The One within the Other
by Hoshino-san
Summary: Bellamione. Hermione is sent back in time, not as an accident, but because there is something she has to do. Some new friends, some old fiends to meet, a new perspective that changes so much. And a certain Dark Witch that has almost as many secrets as herself, getting to know each other in the strangest of situations.
1. Chapter 1

Hi there, everyone! How you doin'? I'm pretty nervous to be honest, since this is my first time writing fanfiction in general. But since Bellamione got me hooked this time around last year, I thought to give it a try. There are a lot of awesome Fanfictions out there, so I kind of wanted to give my own part to this fandom, since I've become pretty much a fangirl by now :D Not a native speaker, so please forgive me if there are some grammar mistakes (constructive criticism is welcome as always, of course) Rated M for Chapters in the future, just better be safe than sorry.

The Idea: I know there are a lot of awesome time-travel-stories out there (especially referring to the author N. Blackman here!)  
but I planned to make this one a little different. I plan to have it mostly kanon (except for the cursed child, which I'll never accept as kanon :D) actually and I guess It'll become pretty long. I've researched a lot and hope I got all the dates and happenings correctly, we'll see, I guess :)  
So, I hope you'll be in for the ride and enjoy. Let's dig in!

Disclaimer: I don't get any money out of this and obviously don't own any of the recognisable characters, the tribute goes to J. K. Rowling, the wonderful woman who gave us the Harry Potter-Universe.

* * *

Chapter 1 – A story that waits to start

"From the time we are born, the time we're alive

Waiting for our story to start

We practice all day, we practice all night

But we're waiting for our story to start."

Abney Park, The story that never starts.

* * *

Dumbledore was dead.  
The proof in form of his lifeless body hit Hermione Granger's reality hard.  
How could this happen? It felt so surreal. Murdered by Snape, the man whom the now dead man trusted most deeply in. Only a few moments ago. To Hermione, it felt like an eternity.  
She fell to her knees, trembling at first, shivering soon after, as some tears made her way down her dirt covered face. Ron, who stood right next to her, patted her shoulder clumsily as they both watched Harry, walking up alone to the not-moving figure of Dumbledore, to be the first person to show his respects to the greatest wizard they would ever meet.

This would mean change, and an immediate one.

Hermione knew they wouldn't come back to Hogwarts next year, as they had a higher aim to fulfill. Searching for the Horcruxes and work for the greater good. The information Harry got from Dumbledore made very clear what their next goal should be. Harry hadn't spoken to Ron and her about further plans but it was just a matter of time, Hermione assumed.

But little did Harry and and Ron know that Hermione also had an announcement to them, concerning her next steps in the war. They were not interfering with Harry's, almost nothing could hinder her in following her best friend in his task for the greater good. Still, there was something she had to do, what made her plans, well, a little more complex. If nothing would go wrong, she would still go with Harry, and, she strongly assumed, also Ron, on their adventurous journey in the next months. It would only not feel like it. Well, not for her.  
Unhandily she wiped the tears from her face, which probably just worsened the extend of the dirt-cover on her face and briefly excused herself from Ron, who still seemed to be in a haze. He only nodded slowly and started moving forward to calm his best friend, joining his little sister, whom held Harry in the moment, following countless others on their way to mourn over their loss.

Hermione wanted nothing more than to grieve with her friends, to cry about the loss of the brillant wizard, headmaster and, in in some way, a friend. Even if she was never actually close to the older wizard, she again felt the tears dripping down her face. She wiped them off again, more eagerly now.  
She couldn't afford this behavior right now. She needed to hurry. She needed to act.  
Only the focus she had saved her from collapsing at the very moment.

A few days later, Dumbledores funeral was held. It was a touching ceremony, as everyone, wether human or not, wanted to show their respect to the wizard.  
She sat with Harry and Ron, when Harry started to speak and talk with them about his plans for the next year. How he didn't want to go back to Hogwarts.

*"We'll be there, Harry," said Ron.  
"What?"  
"At your aunt and uncle's house," said Ron. "And then we'll go with you wherever you're going."  
"No —" said Harry quickly; he had not counted on this, he had meant them to understand that he was undertaking this most dangerous journey alone.  
"You said to us once before," said Hermione quietly, "that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We've had time, haven't we?*

They went on, talking about Bill's and Fleur's wedding, Hermione could see the the tension in Harry's movements, a mix out of sorrow, gratefulness and so many more emotions he probably couldn't define himself.

Nonetheless, after a while, Hermione started shifting and gained the attention of the two boys. The news for today weren't over.

„What's wrong?" Ron asked, a little confused about this sudden change of behavior.

Ron. The guy she fought the most with and whom she still cared so deeply for.

„Yeah, tell us, 'Mione." Harry added.

Harry, the boy without parents. The teenager without his godfather and now, without Dumbledore. The man who was like a brother to her.

She would miss them so much.

The young witch sighed deeply, looking both of them in the eyes variantly. „Guys…I-I have to tell you something. Something concerning me. And well, also Dumbledore." And with that she began to explain.

January, 1997

 _*Knock knock*_

 _„Please, come in."_

 _Hermione opened the door carefully and closed it as silently as possible. She felt very uncomfortable, as she had never been in the Headmasters office alone. Much less, without knowing what he wanted AND insisting in the scribbled note she found on her pillow the day before, not to tell anybody, especially not her friends. Because of that, she excused herself from Harry and Ron for needing to go to the library earlier. Both rolled their eyes, they thought they clearly had something better to do, but didn't question her. And much less, wanted to come with her._  
 _She had counted on that._

 _„Hello, Professor."_

 _„Hello, Miss Granger, please, sit down" He said, as he pointed at one of the comfy chairs in front of his large desk. Fawkes was sleeping peacefully in his cage, his head under one of his crimson wings._

 _Hermione followed his invitation slowly, still very anxious, as she sat down as suggested, shifting a little. „What is it that you wanted to discuss, Professor?"_

 _At first, Dumbledore just looked at her, over his half-moon-glasses, sporting a gentle smile on his wrinkled face. For half a minute he didn't say anything, then:_

 _„Miss Granger, let me ask you a question. What do you think it is, that fuels this war?"_

 _Hermione looked puzzled at Dumbledore. As there came no further explanation, she tried to formulate an answer._

 _„Well…Voldemort..and hatred, I guess. As it fuels every war. And the desire for power."_

 _„Very good. Hate and the desire for power. And which one do you think is the worse?"_

 _„Professor, I don't understand-"_  
 _„Just think about it for a moment. You are smart, I am sure you can figure out where I am getting to." Dumbledore said, still with that gentle smile._

 _After a brief thinking, Hermione finally answered. „Well…I would say that it is the desire for power…" Hermione said slowly. „As you can overcome hatred, but if you just have this raw…pure desire for power, there is little that can make you think differently…maybe?" She added with no little concern._

 _Dumbledore beamed at her. „Very good, Miss Granger. I hoped you would say that."_

 _Hermione still looked at him. So confused, she could hardly be happy about the compliment she got about guessing the answer right, apparently._

 _Dumbledore grabbed something behind his table and put a small item on the table, which glimmered slightly in the dimm candlelight of the head-office. „I am pretty sure you remember this item, don't you?"_

 _Hermiones eyes widened in disbelieve and, even more, confusion. „But..but this is..a Time-Turner?! I thought they got destroyed by the ministry."_

 _„Well, except for this one." Dumbledore chuckled. And at this moment it is not a normal Time-Turner anymore. You could say I…modified it a little. There is a form of ancient magic, little known by anyone, which can strengthen the power of some magical objects. Apparently, it also works for those." He said, while gesturing in the general direction of the enchanted object in front of him. „On the one hand, the modification strengthens the magical power of the object. To speak directly, it can now let the user travel way further into the past than a normal Time-Turner."_

 _„How far…"_

 _„Years."_

 _Hermione was utterly stunned. Her eyes grew wide at this suggestion. Observing her, Dumbledore continued._

 _„On the other hand, it allows the traveller to move back. Meeting certain conditions."_

 _At this moment, Hermiones jar dropped. Literally. What? „But…what…impossible! How?!" Throwing every politeness in the wind, she threw the question at the Professor..remembering slowly after whom she talked to._

 _„Professor…I am sorry, it just sounds so…incredible." She said, blushing a little. Her curiosity got the better of her._

 _Dumbledore smiled, leaning forward a bit. „I said earlier, it was made possible due to ancient magic. There is a little known place in North-Egypt, the sanctuary of the ancient Pharaoh Djosier. One of the mightiest wizards of the oldest times. I don't know how familiar you are with the Egyptian History, but due to his abilities he became the first pharaoh of the old empire. Nonetheless, to strengthen his reign, he built three monuments, one of those is known as the ‚Sakkara'-Pyramide by the muggle-world today, the others are unknown to them, as they are gravely destructed since centuries. Still, the magical triangle is still intact, even grew stronger about the thousands of years. He protected the place well, but.."Dumbledore chuckled"…with a little effort, it was possible to find it. I also doubt Voldemort knows about this place, as he was always rather…drawn to the UK, as always, missing on so many important perspectives._

 _„And…and at that place, there you…"_

 _„Exactly" Dumbledore nodded. „ I was able to recalculate the abilities of the Time-Turner."_  
 _Hermione literally had to pinch her arm to be sure not to dream. Pyramid-magic, really? It felt like too much of a cliché. But, still… this was the wizarding world they were talking about and it was no surprise that the pyramids had actual magical power._

 _The Time-Tuner glittered in the dim light, innocently. Hermione could do nothing but stare at the miraculous object in front of her. She would have never imagined such kind of magic possible. But this still didn't explain…_

 _Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain Hermiones attention._

 _„So. What could we possibly do with an object like this? Do you know what could possibly be important about the year 1968?_

 _„No, Professor?"_

 _„Well…" Dumbledore said, now sighting a little." Me neither. A lot happened in this time, though. For example, our dear Arthur and Molly got married, also the wonderful singer Céline Dion was born. I don't know if you like her music, I always thought of it as quite catchy."_

 _Hermione just stared at him._

 _„To be blunt, Miss Granger, I would like you to go visit that said year."_

 _If she wouldn't have been seated in the moment, she surely would have been fallen to the floor. She waited for an explanation, but Dumbledore just sat there, in silence._

 _One minute._  
 _Two minutes._

 _Hermione threw every caution in the wind._

 _„What!? Why?! It doesn't make sense at ALL." She panicked, now seriously doubting Dumbledores mental health. „I- the cause! There is no way it would be helpful to go to the past." Hermione tried in a weak attempt of reasoning". A year were you can't even pinpoint a specific reason to go to! Why not go back further in the timeline and KILL Voldemort, when we have the possibility? Or… or use that pyramid-magic for something that isn't totally unsafe and dangerous to the timeline!?"_

 _She knew she talked herself in a rage. She didn't even realise when she stood up. When her voice became shaken and loud. But he couldn't be serious. She could at least imagine a dozen of better uses for the Time-Turner or those bloody cliché'd pyramids. She was about to go on a next rampage when she recognised the expression in Dumbledores face. An arched eyebrow and tucked lips showed slight surprise and bemusement of her small burst. Slowly taking a seat again, Hermione tried to calm down and doing what she was best at. Searching for a logical solution to the words of the brillant wizard._

 _„I-..it just doesn't make sense to me… and seems very risky, Professor."_

 _Now blushing, she realised Dumbledore didn't stop talking earlier because he didn't have anything to say anymore. He just waited for a reaction, which Hermione dutifully gave._

 _When he saw that she was ready to listen to him again, he continued._  
 _„I may not know exactly, why it has to be this year. But it has, and it has to be you, Miss Granger. While I know the difficulties of time-traveling very well, I trust in you completely." While he said this, he stood up from his desk and took a small leather briefcase out of one of the cupboards behind him. He returned and pushed the object gently into Hermione's arms. The light brown leather was in good condition, but didn't look very new either. It seemed more like it hadn't been touched in decades._

 _Carefully she opened the folder. It contained a single part of parchment, which seemed to be ripped off not-so-gently from a scroll. Also the parchment looked like it was, albeit rarely touched, rather old. There was something written on it, only a small note, in hasty handwriting. But, moreover, a familiar handwriting. Her jar dropped again as she identified it as her own._

 _Dear Professor Dumbledore,_  
 _I have not much time right now, but I assure you, believe me! When I enter Hogwarts, send me back in the year 1968 right after I end my sixth year. Don't destroy all time-tuners, one will be needed! Hermione Granger_

 _„So, Miss Granger, as you see, I am far from being irrational. I just comply with a request a student gave me a long time ago. And, with that to say…„ he smiled gently again, locking his gaze into hers, „…it's nice to meet you again."_

 _To say Hermione was confused would be an understatement. What? She had been to the past? No, she would be, right? It was already part of the timeline? So it would actually be messing not to go?_

 _She put her head in her hands, trying to process the information. She read the note over and over again to finally understand._

 _„So…you've known me before?" Was everything she could manage for the moment._

 _„Yes!" Dumbledore beamed. „And I am happy to say that you have become the same wonderful student I have met decades ago. But, according to your wish, I only contacted you in your sixth year. To be honest, I may not be…able to tell you at the end of the year. So I assumed it would be okay to tell you now, while I still can listen to your questions. And I am sure you have those."_

 _With this, he placed his chin on his fingertips, again observing Hermione with his piercing, but gentle gaze. Hermione couldn't measure how long she held the gaze._

 _Hermione, however, still needed to find a way to express her current state of mind. She felt like switching between a state of hyperventilation, terror and, still, disbelieve. It just seemed to much. To sudden. To tremendous. For at least ten minutes the headmaster had to look at the probably fascinating display, as Hermione's complexion turned from pale to red to an ashen color several times, her breath either quickened near hyperventilation or was almost not audibly, closing her eyes or staring at the be-scribbled parchment without blinking for minutes._  
 _Dumbledore didn't say a word within this time, and Hermione was thankful for that. It gave her time to process the things she heard and read. So she was finally able to rationalise, to give in on the suggestion._

 _„I..I think I understand now. Or at least I try." She slowly started. „It is already part of the timeline, so it would be wrong not to do it. A little like with Sirius back then, but surely more complicated. It sounds incredible, really… everything of it. But now I see the reasoning. This writing is mine, I can't deny that. And I doubt I would suggest to send me back as a joke. And, well… certainly, you saw me. In the past. So it has to be important…" She continued babbling about all the thoughts that came to her mind._

 _„Miss Granger..:" Dumbledore firmly interrupted her talk. „This doesn't mean you are forced to do this. It is completely up to you in the end, I just needed to show you the option. I can't assure you what will happen. And…" At that point he winked at her. „That would also be telling."_

 _Hermione nodded. She understood. She wouldn't be forced to do something she really wouldn't want. But Dumbledore also couldn't give her all the details he knew, to at least try to follow the rules of time-traveling._

 _„Can I…can I think about it?"_

 _„Of course, Miss Granger. Take all the time you need." As he stood to see her off of his office._

 _„Well", Hermione thought wryly as she followed the stairs down to the corridor, „that's the bloody problem, isn't it?"_

Harry and Ron stared at her in silence for a few seconds, when she had finished her monologue. Obviously as confused as she was at first. Well, almost.

Harry was the first to speak. „That means, later..?"

„Yes" Hermione finished his sentence. „About three days later I went back to his office and told him that I decided to agree to the plan."

„So.." Ron followed. „You are really doing it?"  
Hermione shrugged, then sighed. „That's the consequence, Ronald." Even in a situation like this, her bossy side couldn't be silenced completely. „I know I should've told you both earlier, but…well. I promised Dumbledore. And he made very clear that I should keep it to myself for the longest time. And.." She shrugged again. "As far as it concerns you, I am back in, well, no time. So you won't even realise I am gone." She even tried to smile at that lame attempt to sooth the atmosphere. Damn, why did she have to cry right now? Eagerly she wiped the liquid from the corner of her eyes.

„But not for you." Ron finally said, ignoring her comment about him. He probably assumed what was going on in her right now.

„You don't have to do this." Harry added, sporting the same sad and helpless look as Ron. Even if they wanted to, it wasn't something they could actively help her with. But his face was in conflict. It was something, Dumbledore suggested, at least. And Harry wasn't one to doubt the former headmaster. Even if he obviously wished that his best friend wouldn't have to go through something so unpredictable and dangerous.

„Blimey Hermione… I am still waiting for that moment you tell us jokes on you, this would be the top on everything, how could you really believe me?" He sighed heavily. „But I guess this isn't happening." He ruffled through his read hair and looked at her intensely. „You are completely settled on this decision, right? There is no way we could change your opinion on this. Because it could help the cause. And, as always, you are putting everything else above you. But that's just you all over, I guess."

„No, you couldn't change my mind." Hermione sadly smiled. „In fact, I am going tonight. This is a goodbye for me. We'll see…sometimes."

With this he hugged her in a tight embrace. Harry soon followed. This time she didn't make an attempt to hold her tears.

Not even an hour later, Hermione stood in the office again, even if it wasn't ‚Dumbledores office' anymore, she thought bitterly. A last time, she checked if everything was prepared for the journey. After her return three days after, Dumbledore seemed more than happy that she obligated. Again, she wondered how much the wizard really knew, but, through obvious reasons, didn't dare to ask.

„As I told you, the enhanced magic of the time-tuner allows you to go back in time, but it also needs certain conditions for that. First, you have to be at the exact same place which you started before. Otherwise, it wouldn't work. Obviously it's up to you where you go, but I would highly suggest this office, as it should be relatively save for your return."

Albeit Dumbledore couldn't be the one to greet her anymore, she still chose to obligate, as she couldn't think of a better place she could reach without problems that was equally safe. Professor McGonagall would be the temporary headmaster. She could imagine worse people to discuss her experiences with. Even if Harry and Ron tried to insist on accompanying her, she refused. The magic was unstable and it could always happen a slight displacement so that she would arrive one or two days later. It wasn't necessary that they waited for her. She promised them that she would find them immediately, hugged them again and went away quickly. Crying again wouldn't help them in this situation.

„Okay." Hermione whispered to herself. „Place: Check. Bag: Check"

As she didn't have her belongings back in 1968 – hell, she didn't even existed at that time – she charmed a small bag of hers to have infinite space. It was convenient, she could take all her closet, books and other needed stuff with her.  
She went through a list she made in her head an decided that she took everything important with her. Then, she remembered what Dumbledore had further explained to her.

„The other thing is, that you have to have to, when you decide to come back, be back at the exact second in the exact same spot were you emerged from. And – he paused for a moment – it has to be exactly a year after you got off from your regular timeline. It doesn't matter if its one or ten years, but it isn't possible to return before a whole year has passed.

Hermione has gulped at that.

A whole year.  
But it didn't change anything. Apparently, my former self had insisted on her being sent back. So the time probably didn't matter at that point. She tried to convince herself from not stepping back in the last second.

Now, she was almost ready. Only one thing had to be done.

 _„The way you go back in time", Dumbledore explained „is basically the same as it was before this object was enhanced. Only it works with years instead of hours. So, for your purpose, you would turn it around-.."_

„–29 Times" Hermione said, as she stood in front of the large desk, the now empty cage of Fawkes, to let her view gaze over the office for a temporary last time. At least this office.

With this, and a last, sharp breath, she began to turn the hourglass of the time-tuner.

„1…" she whispered.

 _„Miss Granger" Dumbledore added, as they had gone through the formalities and organization of her soon-or-earlier adventure. „All that's left for me is to pronounce my utmost respect to you and the courage you're showing. Their wouldn't be much people to sacrifice that much. Even if it doesn't seem difficult on the first sight, it will change you,…"_

„8…" she said, now in a normal voice.

 _„…change your perspectives on many things. You, I am certain, won't return as the person I see right now. But, bright witch that you are, you probably already knew that."_

Hermione nodded.  
Of course. In the last three days, she had gone through it in her head over and over. Shifted the angle again and thought it over again. It wasn't her to just accept things as they were, she had to tear the situation apart in her mind and put the pieces together, until it made sense. She tried until she got a headache, without any promising results.

„15." She now said sharply, breath turning heavy.

After two days of more thinking and less sleeping than she even did during exam-periods, she awoke relatively calm on the third day, one emotion overflowing the others.

Curiosity.

She had finally realized it wouldn't help her to think it over another time – as the main problem was her lack of Information and uncertainty of what would happen. Still, the evidence scared her almost enough to deny it. But she felt that she would repent it for the rest of her life if she didn't take on that option. She would be the first witch known to visit a timeline that far away, gaining never before seen information. The lone thought of this excited her almost to no end. Also, she had to admit, she was kind of curious how she would do without Harry and Ron. She loved them both to no end, and as she certainly never had the jealousy Ron often showed when Harry once again was in the center of attention – hell, she was happy most of the time it didn't extend to her that much – she was eager to prove her value to herself. As long as she could remember, she had to prove herself more than others. Because she was considered smart, because she was a muggleborn, because she was a woman. Either jealousy or her seemingly lower blood status or whatever reason, she always felt as needing to work twice as hard. It wasn't for gaining attention, but she was almost eager to show her value in a mission she was to handle alone.

„22..!" Her voice was now shrill, being a little to loud for comfort.

 _„Yes Professor. I have thought it through and I am ready." She simply said, as there was either to much or nothing more to say, as she felt at that moment."_

 _Dumbledore smiled brightly. „A courageous witch indeed" he murmured. „Well, Miss Granger. The last thing is to wish you a pleasant journey."_

„29!" She almost screamed, as she turned the hourglass a final time.

The last thing she saw was the image of Dumbledore, as her mind projected him on the now empty chair behind the large table, smiling at her ever so gently, as her vision vanished in a blur of colors.

* * *

So, that's it for today. I hope you like it, leave a review if you want to let me know :) I have quite a few chapters almost finished, I intend to update weekly, so we should be good about that for a few months. Funfact: The Conversation between the golden trio I started with a"*" was part of the original sixth Harry Potter-Book, since I intend to be serious about the kanon-part :D So, see you next week!


	2. Chapter 2

Aaand Hello again, everyone. Since I plan für the future to upload around the weekend and this chapter is a little shorter than the next ones will be,  
I decided to upload it a little earlier than announced :) As I forgot to mention, there will be the occasional Bellatrix-POV, the majority of the time we'll stick  
with Hermione, though. So, there you go, as promised, Chapter 2!

Chapter 2. Rapunzel

* * *

In the court yard use to sing as loud as she could  
locked away here she's been quite lovely and good  
but no one listens now  
she's lost her voice  
she had no choice

Emilie Autumn, Rapunzel

* * *

Bellatrix Black sat at the window sill in her bedroom at Black Manor, watching, as the amber-coloured sunset emerged on the formerly bluish sky. It was at the end of August, therefore relatively warm. She embraced her legs with her arms in an attempt to shift her position a little and to try to make herself as small as possible. She enjoyed the faint breeze which came through the open window, it cooled off her heated face a little. At one moment, she sat in silence, seemingly deep in thoughts. In the next second, she grabbed her scalp and ran her fingers hastily through her hair, letting out a long, desperate groan.

 _Why? Why, damn it!_

The reason why she sat near her window since hours so she couldn't feel the lower half of her body anymore was the conversation she and her parents had earlier this day, right after lunch. It still sent shivers down her body when she thought about it.

 _„Father, Mother, you called for me?" Bellatrix said, when she anxiously entered one of the large living rooms of the manor, where her parent's used to sit. Like always, Druella, her mother, simply sat next to her father in her favorite armchair, staring into the large fireplace and living in her own world. Druella resembled, somehow, every one of her daughters, or rather, all her three daughters resembled her in a certain way. She had smooth hair, a lot like Narcissa, the dark color almost as Bellatrix raven hair, with the rather smooth, a little rounder face of her second sister, Andromeda._  
 _But her facial expression was so empty, her eyes sow hollow, she hardly resembled a human to Bellatrix, let alone her sisters._  
 _Her father, however, looked up as she entered the room. He had straight, blond hair, an aristocratic face and sported an expression on his face, Bellatrix used to think of as his ‚tactical smile'. There was no real affection or emotion in it, it was simply the face he wore wile having important conversations. With politicians, partners for work, or, in this case, his eldest daughter. Thus she was rather concerned as she came closer to her parents. She surely wouldn't want to hear what they had coming for her._

 _„Yes, Bellatrix, sit with us", her father said, never losing his smile._

 _Bellatrix did as she was told and looked from her father to her mother, who, by now, followed the example of her husband and faced her daughter directly. It made Bellatrix only more uncomfortable. She gulped._

 _„I will come straight to the point." Cygnus said without losing eye contact. His ‚tactical smile' never reached his eyes, they stayed cold while he watched his eldest daughter. To her, it was normal. She had only seen him with actual affection in his eyes when he looked at his father, her grandfather, whom has visited to the birth of her baby sister. This was the first time Bellatrix saw, how he wanted to please someone, where the opinion of someone mattered to him. Where he somehow cared. When she was a child she'd always longed for him to look at her in that way. By now, it had all turned into emptiness. „You turned 17 at the beginning of March, therefore you are finally of age. I think you know where I am getting to?"_

 _Bellatrix tensed in her chair, but nodded._

 _„Well, this obviously means nothing other than marriage." Her father explained nevertheless. „By now we have already gotten quite an amount of owls with marriage offers from different families. If it wasn't for the last year of your school we would have gotten you married at that point on time. But at least, naturally, we started making arrangements a few weeks ago. We haven't decided on a candidate yet, but for example the Flint's, Lestrange's and Shafiq's showed interest in an marriage-arrangement…"_

 _Bellatrix listened quietly, while her thoughts went off somewhere else._

 _Marriage. Great. She knew it would be necessary at some point – she was a Black after all – but this still couldn't stop her from thinking how much she loathed the idea to marry any of them. Some of the men she probably knew from school – Rabastan and Rodolphus Lestrange were complete idiots – and she couldn't think why anyone of them should be a better option, as she wouldn't even know them before marriage. In her opinion, it was all bollocks. Not that it would change anything for her or that her opinion mattered, which one of those degenerated idiots would become her husband in the end. She would probably loath every single second, never mind with whom of them._

 _„…so, by the time you return from Hogwarts for the Christmas holidays we should be able to tell you about your future husband. The ceremony will be held shortly after you graduate. Do you understand?"_

 _Bellatrix stared at him, by now with as much emotions in her eyes as her father. Her mother gazed at the fire again. There was an expression Bellatrix wasn't able to read. If she wouldn't have known any better, she would have guessed her mother had looked…sad. But that was impossible._

 _„Yes, father." Bellatrix whispered almost inaudibly._

 _Her father nodded and motioned her she could go. Judging his behaviour, they could've also talked about the weather. Bellatrix wished her parents a good night and left the living room silently._  
 _After that, she had slowly gone back to her room. She threw herself in her bed, sobbing and screaming uncontrollably for about an hour. After she calmed down, she went to the place at the window were she remained until now._

 _Why. Why did she have to marry?!_

But of course she new. She was a pure-blood. From the most ancient house of Black. _Toujours pur_ , her heritage was as much her pride as her burden. Even if she would never say the last one out loud, she wasn't stupid. She new that half-bloods and muggle-borns could choose their own path and their own partners. and she envied them for that. Horribly. Even if it was out of the question to refuse her family… sometimes she imagined herself living a free life, a happy life.

 _Fucking bloody brilliant, as always._ She groaned again, pressing her cheek against the wall next to the window, closing her eyes shut, her heart aching, a single tear emerging from each of her eyes as she finally started to comprehend the situation.

At Christmas they would tell her. _What a nice present,_ she thought bitterly.

Those thoughts circled in her head, as she watched sadly how the sun slowly started to go down, when another voice started to raise in her head. It wasn't sad, it sounded angry… almost hateful.

 _You should hex your parents for deciding this for you. You are Bellatrix Black and should do what you want. Decorate the floor with their blood, for example. Show them how exactly you can do what you want. Cripple them, rip their throats, SLAY THEM!_

Bellatrix shook her head to get that pestering voice out of her head. Right now, she wasn't in the mood to deal with it. Still, somehow she started giggling at the suggestions, as they would make her life so much easier. More free. But despite everything, she could not, couldn't hurt her family.

 _You are not exactly honest to yourself, darling, you know that. Liar. LIAR._

She shook her head again, harder this time. Stop it! She thought, angrily.

„Bella, are you okay?"

Bella looked up to see her two sisters.

„Cissy, Andy, what do you want?"

Narcissa and Andromeda came closer. Narcissa had straight, blonde hair, a lot like her father, but her young, pretty face was usually full of emotions. In this moment, it showed a slight concern.  
Andromeda was 14 and looked a little more mature than Narcissa. She had the same curly hair as Bellatrix herself. But her's had a slightly lighter shade in colour. Her face, though, showed the same emotion as her younger sister's.

„Well…we overheard mother and father talking about your…future…are you alright?" Andromeda asked gently. Bellatrix sighed inwardly. In general, she was a better actress.

Bellatrix then smiled, looking at her sisters fondly. It was adorable how much they cared for her, they probably waited for hours in front of her door, if they could hear how she was doing. Her bad thoughts started to vanish.

„Yes, I am alright. I always knew it would happen, it was just a little earlier than expected. Everything is fine." There was no reason to worry them, there was nothing she could change about her destiny. Or theirs. „Nothin special about it, it is part of my life, to fulfill my duty as a pureblood, the path had always been laid out in front of me. Of us. You will do the same when you are older, you know that, right?"

Both of them nodded slowly.

„But-" Narcissa started.

„Nothing but, Cissy." Bellatrix said firmly, standing up and squeezing both of their shoulders. „Everything will be alright, I promise." _Or at least you will think that for a while longer, little ones._

„Hm…okay." Narcissa said reluctantly, she looked mostly convinced at Bellatrix' reassuring smile. Andromeda on the other side didn't look as convinced as Bellatrix had hoped, but she apparently decided not to say anything more, maybe for Cissy's sake, maybe for Bellatrix's. When had her younger sister become so observant, or was she imagining things?  
In that moment, Andy started to smile a little. „At least we'll be going back to Hogwarts tomorrow. Don't stay up too late, okay? You wouldn't want to oversleep tomorrow."

Bellatrix smiled and nodded at them, they wished each other a good night and both of the younger girls went away.

Hogwarts, Bellatrix sighted, as she thought, would finally not help her anymore to get away from her family, her duties. She felt like someone who went to her last meal, it was the last year she could live relatively free. She could probably consider herself lucky her parents didn't decide to take her off of the school since she already was 17. She had the inking it had little to do with her last year in Hogwarts but a tactical decision if there would be any other families interested in his eldest daughter.  
She sighed. It felt like she was some kind of livestock to her father, who decided to delay her trip to the slaughter house, to see if the value would rise.  
She sighed again. This was the only night she would allow herself to grieve over her destiny, tomorrow she would replace her emotions with numbness. _Seems to work for mother, at least._

Still, Hogwarts, her last given mercy. Never mind the reason. „At the beginning of March…well, my birthday is more in the middle of March… but I am sure you meant that… _right, father_?" She whispered sarcastically as she watched how the last sunlight reflecting in her eyes was slowly replaced by the sparkle of the stars.

* * *

That's it for today. I know, a little shorter this time, but this part was necessary. The real fun starts next chapter, I promise. Leave a review if you find the time, I always appreciate it :) And a big thank you for the last reviews! (and, if you look closely, there is one thing you could find off about that story, I'm curious if someone notices what I mean :)  
Till next week, then!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi there again, everyone. Since I'll have to work tomorrow, I thought to upload early again, since I may won't have the time later.

I have to say, I really don't get the concept about the Review-notifications. Sometimes I get an email but I won't find them in the list,  
others are only in the list without any further email-notification. Well, whatever! As long as I get all of your lovely reviews (which I will now start answering at the end of the chapters) I don't care! But please continue writing them, they're really helping me to improve and to learn what you think about the story so far  
:) Well, without further words, I'll present the next chapter (this time a really nice and long one!) Hope you'll enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 3 – The Future in the Past

Years are passing, passing – falling through time

Nobody is watching, watching – I'm sleepy and blind

Watches are ticking hysterically – I'm bored and weak

Screaming and crying pathetically – I'm tired and sick

Infected Rain, hysterical watches.

* * *

When the storm of colours around Hermione started to fade, she had to blink a few times to get a straight look at her surroundings again. The differences of the office – since the Time-Turner, even in its advanced form, only moved in time, not in space, that she stood at the exact same place where she left off – were, at first sight, pretty subtle. Some shiny magical instruments less, also there was no cage for Fawkes, who would later leave Hogwarts at Dumbledore's burial. But what took her immediate attention weren't those small facts, but the man who sat in the chair in front of her, wearing a subtle look of surprise on his face. Yes, he looked younger and strains of brown were weaving through is hair and beard.  
Yes, he has less wrinkles than in her time.  
But it was the same half moon-glasses he used to wear. The same gentle look in his eyes, even if a little surprised (and justifiably so).

It was the same man.

„Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione said shakily, breathing heavily.

„That I am." he simply replied, nothing about his composure would let one guess that a random person just appeared in front of him in his office. „And who are you, if I may ask?"

She gulped and forced herself to calm down by taking deep breaths. So far so good. It looked like it worked and she went to the past. Well, she would have to decide later if this really was good or the biggest mistake ever. Stop it, Hermione, this isn't the time to panic. You made a plan. You practiced this speech for weeks.

„I…I am Hermione Granger." She started to explain nervously. She had decided she could just as well let the cat out of the bag, since there actually was no discreet way of explaining her situation.  
Even if she knew that Dumbledore didn't know her in this time – it gave her the last confirmation that was both satisfying and terrifying at the same time – also it weirded her out to introduce herself to him after all this years they had actually known each other. „And… I am from the future, almost 30 years from now on, to be exactly. I was sent back with your help, precisely 29 years ago, at the 16th of June 1997."

„Excuse me?! This is utterly ridiculous!" Sounded a flabbergasted voice to the right of Hermione that didn't belong to the old wizard. Hermiones eyes grew wide and her head snapped to the right were a rather startled, but also much younger Professor McGonagall stood. A loud ‚thud!' sounded as she dropped the large book she had been holding until now.

That was unexpected. Professor Dumbledore never told her that there was someone with him in his office at the time when Hermione had come to the past. Well, she didn't exactly ask either. But DAMN, he could have told me that, Hermione thought bitterly and bit her lip in slight frustration, as she tried to adjust to this new situation and mused if it would make a difference and if her credibility would suffer from this. Professor McGonagall looked a lot more skeptical and hostile than Professor Dumbledore. In fact, she looked like she was on the verge of drawing her wand in sight of this unexpected intruder that Hermione certainly was. The young witch took a tentative step back, but suppressed the urge to grab her own wand. The rational part of her brain remembered her that it wasn't a good first step to start a fight in the headmaster's office.

Dumbledore's gaze moved from McGonagall to Hermione and back. He had the same slightly surprised look in his eyes, but still the so gentle smile Hermione had believed to never see again. Even in a potentially dangerous situation.

„Well, Miss Granger. I would love to believe you and I am eager to listen to the probably fascinating story you have to offer. But, before you start, I need to ask something. It is obvious that you are not a normal… guest to this school, but do you have any kind of proof to your story you could offer beforehand? If _I_ indeed sent you, I hope my later self would not be as – forgive the expression –senile as to send you without any proof for his younger version to accept? Especially because my dear Minerva looks as about she is going to explode of all the things she has against a simple advancement of trust in this case. Right, Minerva?"

Professor McGonagall, who's mouth was wide open again, looked exactly like she wanted to voice all her concerns about the appearance of the young woman in front of her, deeming what the young witch said earlier as obviously not trustworthy, but slowly started to close her mouth again and had a look mixed out of concern and disbelieve in her eyes. „Well" she simply said, after a brief moment of consideration. „I assumed it to be impossible to just…appear in the headmaster's office. And therefore the possibilities aren't exactly many. Either way it is unbelievably dark magic-" Her gaze in Hermiones direction told her that she highly doubted this, but still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very strange going on. She sighted. „Or your story is just unbelievable enough to actually be true. Very well, I am curious for your story, Miss Granger, enlighten us. But don't think I would agree to believe you before a 100%-proof of whatever you are going to tell us." With this, she actually drew her wand, but before Hermione could do as much as whimper, she flicked it and the book she dropped earlier flew back in her arms.

Dumbledore chuckled. „Demanding as ever Minerva. So, Miss Granger, about that proof…"

„Ah, yes!" Hermione said, since this was indeed a point the older version of the headmaster had persisted on. But luckily, this was the easier part, according to him. „You told me..or, rather will tell me, maybe?…That I should say the following to you." She cleared her throat for an explanation she actually had learned by heart. „If you insist on trying that green sprinkled Bertie Bott's bean you still have left in your drawer, be careful. It is way worse than the Brussels sprouts you are expecting." After this rather eccentric statement – which Hermione gave with a slightly blushed face, as it wasn't exactly a scientific proof – McGonagall's mouth was again wide agape, but didn't seem to have anything to say after this statement but looking utterly stunned. Dumbledore, however, stared at Hermione intensely, then, slowly, opened his drawer to get out a bag of Bertie Bott's every flavored beans. He opened it and popped the content into his left hand. It was a single, green-sprinkled bean. He first considered its looks carefully and then popped it into his mouth. First, he had an intense look of concentration on his face, which quickly turned stricken. „Ugh, that seemed to be true." He smiled gently at Hermione, after putting the now empty box back into his drawer. „It seems like you are telling the truth, Miss Granger. Very well. So, to set dear Minerva and me on a more equal level of information on this with you, would you mind to explain what's preying on your mind right now? Before you sturt, I just have to correct you on one thing, though. This isn't the 16th June of 1968, but almost 4 month later. It's the first of September, the new term starts today, actually."

At this statement, Hermione frowned at first, then opened her eyes wide in panic. She tried to calm herself by taking some deep breaths again and rationalise her situation. But this statement let some panic settle in her voice, trying to calm herself or not.

„Wait…what? But…that's impossible! I…I was sent on the middle of June!" All kind of horrible possibilities entered her mind. There had been a mistake in Dumbledores magic. So who could guarantee her, she could go back to her exact future again? Or go back to the future at all. There was no possibility to rationalise this, she started to shiver a little. „If…if it isn't the right time, maybe there was a mistake, maybe-"

„Please, Miss Granger!" Dumbledore said firmly, sensing her overflowing trepidation. „Please, calm down. Tell us your story first. Then we will decide were to go from there. Neko!" As soon as he spoke the last of the words, a loud ‚pop' sounded and a small House-elf stood in the middle of the office in front of them. It was obviously a female, very young elf. It was clad in the typical white uniform with the Hogwarts-emblem on it, she had a snub nose that looked almost human, together with a big pair of cat-like ears. She even had some kind of fur or hair on her ears and head, which Hermione had never seen on an elf. „Yes, headmaster, how can I be of service?" She said in the most high-pitched voice Hermione had ever heard from an elf.

„Ah, yes, thank you, Neko! Could you bring us three cups of your best hot cocoa? All of those with a good measure of Ogdens old Firewhiskey. I assume you are of age, Miss Granger?" Hermione nodded. „I think you could certainly need one of those right now."

Hermione nodded slowly again, albeit being completely sure she wanted to weaken her perception with alcohol. But in her current state, she didn't feel like denying either. „Yes, of course!" Neko squeaked and with another crack she vanished. Only one silence filled minute later, where Dumbledore looked at something presumably interesting at the ceiling, McGonagall's nostrils flaring and breathing heavily and Hermione nervously tipping from one foot to the other, Neko appeared again, holding a tray with three steaming cups on it. After taking the tray from Neko and thanking her, she disappeared again and Dumbledore handed Hermione and McGonagall each one of the cups. Hermione noted that it had a slightly reddish color. As she took one sip, she mainly tasted the cocoa, but it had a burning note to it, which was paradoxically soothing for her nerves. Quickly she took a second and a third sip, feeling a little better afterwords. While Dumbledore hadn't taken a sip yet, McGonagall seemed to have drowned half of the cup by one gulp. She closed her eyes for a moment, her forehead wrinkled in highest concentration. After a moment, it slowly ended and she opened her eyes, looking at Hermione again. This time, her gaze wasn't hostile, but still far from trusting.

„Well… Miss Granger. As much as I don't want to believe you, to be honest, and only think of you as an intruder… What you told us earlier seems to persuade Albus… and then I think I should also at least listen to you. So please… tell us your story."

Hermione gulped and started, trying to look as confident and convincing as possible. While trying not to tell too much about her current timeline, she carefully explained why she was sent here and how she prepared for it. She talked for about an hour, Dumbledore and McGonagall being careful and serious listeners. Hermione tried, in a weak attempt to protect some of the basic-rules of time-traveling – heck, she didn't even KNEW what she was changing or not – she told some of the background, but let out important facts like Voldemort, Dumbledores death and some other things she assumed were too dangerous to tell. The look at the faces of the older wizard and the strict witch told her, whenever she frowned at something she wanted to say, but couldn't say in the correct way, they had almost understanding looks on their faces, even Professor McGonagall, as if they could imagine how difficult this was for her. It gave her hope that they would believe her in the end, if she could get her point across. Even if she didn't know exactly why she was here, she was eager to find out. Now matter how much effort it needed. Occasionally, as her story sometimes went a little further as she needed to explain something more clearly, she threw facts in her story that verified her time-traveling story, like her knowledge of the death of the moaning myrtle, or that she knew of Professor McGonagall's Animagus-form. Those obviously were now secure proofs, as she could have gathered those informations at another point, but at least she could strengthen her argumentation a little. Dumbledore interrupted her only at one point, when she talked about the Time Turner, he asked her to show the item to her. He eyed it with utmost concentration for a short while, gently touching it with his fingertips while murmuring something Hermione didn't understand. He gave it back to her shortly after, without further explanation, „fascinating" being his only other acknowledgement.

„So, in the end" Hermione closed, slightly out of breath „I also have very few hints why I am here. Only that my former – oder later? – self seemed to think of it as absolutely necessary."

For quite some time, neither Professor Dumbledore nor Professor McGonagall said a word. It made Hermione pick up on her nervousness again which she almost lost during her speech. Was it good enough what she had to offer? All she could do now was hope and mentally cross her fingers. The gesture itself would have seemed rather unprofessional, she assumed, even if she pretty much felt like doing it.

„Well…" Dumbledore chuckled after a few seconds. „Pyramid-Energy? I don't want to sound smug, but this sound like a neat idea from me. Miss Granger… I think condolences and a recognition are in order here."

This was unexpected.

„W-what?" The brunette asked, rather confused.

„I can only imagine how terrifying it has to be, going in the past, not knowing what will expect you, or be expected _of_ you, neither your friends nor family here with you. On the other side, my later self must think very highly of you to send you on a journey like that. And even if you – and obviously, me neither – know what your aim will be, I will do what I can to help you with it."

„So… so you believe me?" Dumbledore smiled warmly at her. „I have, at the moment, no reason not to. So I don't intend on making this harder on you with ill-founded distrust. This wouldn't seem fair to the brave young lady in front of me."

Before Hermione could reply anything, Professor McGonagall cleared her throat.  
„After some consideration…I can only agree with Albus. I won't lie, your story still sounds almost unimaginable..but there is also no reason to NOT believe you at this point, especially after you told us your story in detail." She sighed. „Welcome to Hogwarts, year 1968, Miss Granger. I think we have to work out a plan."

Relief washed over Hermione, she couldn't stop tears emerging at the corners of her eyes in sheer happiness for this simple fact. _They believe me! I did it!_

But even if she was relieved for the moment, the hardest part was yet to come. How would it go on from here? She wasn't able to plan that far ahead, as she couldn't know how Professor Dumbledore would react. Also, as she emerged in the past at a different date as expected, all fore-thinking she did nonetheless – she wouldn't be Hermione Granger if she wouldn't have thought of every possibility she could think of – would be useless anyway, as she hadn't expected this in any way. But, in fact, McGonagall seemed to have quite the suggestion for her.

„If you see it this way, your appearance…, well, not quite completely on time, has it's benefits. If I remember correctly, you said you just finished your sixth year at Hogwarts? For starters, would you like to make your final year in Hogwarts this one?"

* * *

A few hours later, Hermione entered the Great Hall of Hogwarts.

 _The thinks I get myself into, seriously_. She mused with a deep sigh.

Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore and Hermione had discussed for almost three hours were they should go from this point and how to do it in the best way. Almost too much of a coincidence, Hermione had been sent back to the first of September, the beginning of the school–year in Hogwarts. So it seemed to be the best option to just declare her a new student who wanted to graduate from Hogwarts after being tutored in another school before. Hermione didn't mind, in fact, this was one thing she rather liked about her situation, if she was honest. She had no clue if it was possible for her to finish her school as she didn't plan to go back to Hogwarts in her timeline. And when Hermione Granger liked something, it was a complete graduation. Despite her situation she wouldn't allow herself to graduate less than perfect.

This led to the next problem, or rather a bunch of new problems. She new her name was kind of unique, so she had to change it for the time. She simply decided to use her second name, Jean, after her Grandmother, since she couldn't imagine adjusting to another name so suddenly. Another last name, then again, sounded easier. Luckily, this was one of the things she was prepared for, she knew the risk was too high somebody could recognise her later if she used her real name. So it didn't take long until she diced on a new surname as well.

Her new identity would be „Jean Gabor".

She considered it to be an actually silly origin. A few years ago, her father had explained to her that one of his Cousins, Clive Granger, had developed a method for economical price-determination. He did it with his colleague André Gabor, and so in the end it was called the Gabor-Granger-Method. Hermione doubted any of the Hogwarts-students – especially the pure-bloods – would ever know about this and Gabor didn't sound too far away from Granger to not get used to it. _Perks of being a muggle-born, oh yes, they do exist_. She thought to herself with a wry smile. She had toyed with the idea to change her blood-identity for this time as well, as she could imagine that the problems muggle-borns would encounter, couldn't be better than in her actual time, but tossed the idea aside. Even if she wasn't looking forward to the mocking that would eventually come, she refused to be part of the society which denied the worth of muggle-borns. She would rather stand strong and endure it but to deny her heritage.

The last thing she did, to secure again, nobody would recognise her later, was to alternate her looks. But only a little. Hermione still refused to use a lot of make-up or any fancy spells for the matter, so she simply went with putting her hair into a loose bun and putting on a pair of glasses with a rather thick, black frame. She hoped it would make her look different enough not to be recognised. She had seen Harry without his glasses a few times and was stunned every time how different he looked without them.

When she looked in the mirror, her first impression was, how utterly ridiculous this was. And how she was NOT impressed with her work. _Why not call myself Hermione Kent? Neat disguise Hermione, really._  
Her second thought was, that this actually didn't look too bad on her.

She argued with herself to alter her appearance more strongly, but every charm would need high concentration to maintain frequently, or would need to be re-casted often. If she once forgot this or something broke her charm, it would be difficult to explain. She would go with that simple solution, even if it wasn't optimal.

Albeit the biggest change was definitely her new uniform. Not in red-gold, but blue-bronze.  
She decided to do her final year in Hogwarts as a Ravenclaw.

This was the most critical point she had to discuss with the headmaster. It was a suggestion Hermione made herself, despite she wasn't sure if it was actually possible. But as she voiced her concerns to Dumbledore, he slowly nodded. It was simply too dangerous. It was way more likely that she would meet someone from Gryffindor who would remember her in the past, even with her alternated name and looks. And even if no one of the students would recognise her, there were dozens of other problems. The portraits, for example. She couldn't avoid talking to the fat lady occasionally to get inside of the common room. And if the fat lady would recognise her in the future…well. She knew how much the woman in the picture liked to gossip. The risk was simply too high. A critical point, on which Professor McGonagall had insisted – for the formality it seemed – was for Hermione to put the sorting hat. It was, in the end, a ritual, and even if Hermione already had worn the hat in her time-period, she understood it to be a serious matter. They wanted to make sure Ravenclaw was the best – or second best?– choice she got. Slytherin was out of the question, more or less obviously, but Hufflepuff was another possibility. It was a strange feeling to put the hat on again. Albeit she had grown quite a bit since her first year, the hat was still way too big and fell over her head and on her shoulders immediately.

 _Well, well…_ she heard a squeaky whisper in her head. _What do we have here? Aren't you a little to old to start your education in Hogwarts_? Actually, Hermione didn't know if it was appropriate to tell the hat about her situation, but she decided to be as honest as possible.

„Uhm…" she started thinking. „Actually, I am from the future and you sorted me into Gryffindor when I started my first year here. But I can't go there at the moment and I need you to choose the second best house for me. Well, please?" She ended her crude thinking.

Then, some seconds of silence followed. Hermione slowly became anxious if the hat didn't want to believe her, but then. _Well, I am just fascinated. As I see it now, I wouldn't have sent you to Gryffindor._

"What?!"

 _Well, it's true. I can see it is not the worst choice, but Ravenclaw is surely a better option for you._ She heard a brief chuckle. _But I doubt I did the wrong decision. I am looking forward to meet you in the future to determine how you convinced me to put you into Gryffindor._

Loudly, he said. „Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, whichever you like!"

They informed an also younger and slightly surpsrised Professor Flitwick, who also had been the head of the house Ravenclaw in this time, that a new student would join his house for the final year. As, so far as he heard the hat had suggested her for Ravenclaw, he was content and it wasn't a problem anymore, happily shaking Hermione's hand and welcoming her to Hogwarts. Afterwards, she was brought by Neko to her room where she could put her stuff out. Right now it was empty, since the other students would only arrive in about an hour.

After she put on her new uniform and altering her general looks, she looked in the mirror of the bathroom and breathed out loudly to calm her nerves.

 _So, Miss Gabor. Ready for this adventure?_

And with this thoughts going through her head, she slowly went in the Great Hall, what almost completely looked like the one she had known before. It were only more faces she didn't recognise, but at least the floating candles, the enchanted ceiling and the occasionally ghost gave her a vague sense of familiarity.

As if naturally, Hermione first walked in direction of the Gryffindor-Table. In the last moment she realised this wasn't were she was supposed to sit this year. So she went further through the hall, to the Ravenclaw-Table. When she sat down somewhere in the middle between students she luckily had never seen before, she suddenly felt very uncomfortable. Well, she felt uncomfortable since she visited this timeline. That wasn't particularly new, so to say. But that suddenly increased tenfold. She was nervous, confused and so much more at the same time.  
As a small child, Hermione remembered, she once lost her parents while they visited Westfield, one of London's biggest shopping malls. She was so overwhelmed by the situation and impressions around her that she didn't pay attention where she was going. Eventually she realised she had lost her parents, she was alone, which made her cry her heart out for almost 20 minutes, while a mall-worker made a call to find her parents. Her parents looked absolutely relieved to find her, they had searched for her everywhere and hugged her for a complete five minutes, but only a large ice-cream cone and a new picture-book could sooth Hermione somehow.  
Now, when she saw all the people chatting happily, talking about their holidays and the hopefully amazing new school year, she felt as if there was a knot in her stomach.

She felt as lonely as she did as a child in that mall.

But this time, probably, nobody would get her some ice cream.

„Hey, I don't recognise you. Are you an exchange-student or something?" a friendly voice next to her spoke in her direction, which let Hermione snap out of her thoughts.

Hermione turned her head, to look at the girl who smiled at her and had risen her eyebrows in friendly questioning. She seemed to belong to the older students, at least year six, Hermione guessed. She had ash-blonde, straight hair, grey eyes and a friendly face. Hermione had heard her chatting with some other students a minute ago and was a little surprised that she suddenly shifted her attention to her. But regardless, she was thankful. She didn't recognise the girl from the future, so she assumed it was okay to talk to her. And well, it was nice to finally talk to someone.

„Ah, well, something like that. I…went to a smaller school in the south of England and just decided I wanted to graduate at this school. To…to get to know something new, you know?" _Well, always good to start an acquaintanceship with a lie. But well, no other choice here._

„Aah, I understand! Probably would have done the same thing if I were you. So you are in your seventh year? I guess we're roommates then, since it's also my last year. Nice to meet'ya, I am Hailey Ashmore. And who might you be?"

„Jean Gabor. Nice to meet you." It was easier than she thought it would be.

„Tell me something about you, were are you from?"

So, Hermione slowly started. She told Hailey the general truth, that she was from London and also which part, but obviously altered the story to match this time. For example, her childhood home hadn't even been built yet for another 8 years, so she had to be careful with some of her information. Admittedly it wasn't very likely somebody would question her over facts like this. But Hermione had always been a perfectionist, regardless the matter.

Hailey continued to ask Hermione questions about herself. _What are your hobbies, do you like Quidditch, which are your favorite subjects, was it difficult to attend Hogwarts as someone fron another school?_ While Hermione liked to talk to Hailey, she still was constantly on the edge, not wanting to accidentally throw something from the future in the conversation. _Would be just perfect to botch it at the first evening._

Hailey obviously seemed to be in a chatty mood or rather was a chatty person in general. Not that Hermione minded all that much. Maybe she could throw one or two occasional questions about the school without being suspicious. But the next question stunned her.

„So, how come you were selected to go to Hufflepuff for your first and so to speak also last year? Did you also have to put the sorting hat on or could you just, like, choose?"

„Hermione made big eyes. „Hufflepuff? But..but I thought this was the _Ravenclaw-Table_?!"  
Hailey frowned. „No, this is obviously the Hufflepuff-Table. Did you mistake this for Ravenclaw? Oh dear…"  
Hermione was utterly confused. Did she really mess up that badly? Impossible! In panic, she snapped her head around to look for evidence. But all the others also wore blue-bronze-clothing and the banner at the top of the table was definitely the one of house Ravenclaw…

„Hahahaha, you should see your face." Hailey let out a hearty laugh and tapped on the brunettes shoulder in good humor. „Loosen up a little, would'ya? No need to be so nervous."

Hermione looked at her in utter confusion, then, when she finally realized she was pranked – Hailey still grinned cheekily – she smiled a little as relief washed over her. Then, she started to laugh. Oh damn, she became too paranoid and anxious. But the laughter actually helped her with her mood a little and let her relax a bit.

„Ha…yeah, okay, you got me. I'm sorry. I _am_ pretty nervous, I guess."

„Well, not necessary, but understandable." Hailey smiled. „Then, just let me continue, maybe you will thaw up a little more…"  
And then Hailey started. She was a friendly and funny girl who currently lived in Liverpool, when not attending Hogwarts. While the Great Hall slowly filled itself with students, a lot of people greeted her, even from the other houses. She seemed to be the kind of girl who seemed to get along with everyone. A talent Hermione never possessed and what would have made her slightly envious if she wouldn't be so grateful for it right now. She felt herself becoming more relaxed as Hailey talked, mostly focusing on her. And finally Hermione had an urge why she did it. Despite she talked a lot she seemed to be a pretty empathic person and had probably sensed Hermione's discomfort. So she almost forced her out of her shell with her way. Hermione started to like that girl. _Isn't quite often I meet someone who talks more than me._

„..and my parents both work in a marketing-office, which I think is pretty boring, but they strangely seem to like it…" That got Hermione's attention.

„Wait, does that mean you are muggle-born?"

„Well, yeah." Hailey said, raising an eyebrow and stiffened a little. „Is that a problem?"  
„Oh…no, absolutely not." Hermione let out a nervous laugh. „I just never had someone hear confessing this so easily. I am, too, you know? My parents are dentists."

„Oh, well." Hailey smiled again and relaxed somewhat. No wonder, this timeline obviously had also it's prejudging pure-bloods and Hermione gave Hailey the wrong idea with her reaction. „I don't like to think of it as something ‚to confess', you know? It's just how it is. Those are things you can't change, it's just who you are." Hailey looked like there was something else she wanted to say, but seemed to refrain from that in the last second. Instead, she said. „If anybody ever gave you a hard time because of something profan like that…pity them. I mean, what stuff you can make a problem of, right?" She narrowed her eyes a little. A lot of pure-bloods, indeed. Even if Hailey made it sound like that, she understood that it wasn't easy to just live with muggle-parents as a non-threatening fact.

Still, after this statement, Hermione smiled broadly, a warm feeling spreading through her stomach. Just now she realized she never had a real friend or even acquaintance she could talk to about the problems of being a muggle-born in a world full of pure- and half-bloods. Even with understanding friends, it hadn't been easy for her, most of the time. She knew she wasn't someone to complain as one of her best friends was Harry Potter, who simply outmatched her in mobbing-attempts of other students. But still, the insults and problems she had heard because of her blood-status weren't exactly childsplay either.

By that time, the students in the now full hall became a lot quieter, and when Hermione looked up to the professors – where she saw quite some faces she didn't recognise – Dumbledore stood up from his chair and reached out with his arms

„Welcome back, dear students, Professor and every other human and living creature who might is with us in this room right now. I am happy to see you back this year, as numerous as ever. Without a long speech, I wouldn't want to let our new students wait around any longer before they can sit down at their future house-table. Please." He sat down again, and, under the surveillance of Professor McGonagall, a bunch of shivering, scared kids came up to the front, waiting for their moment to put the hat on. Hermione didn't recognise any of them from the future, but when the first kids were called up to the hat, Hermione was truly thankful she got over with this a few hours before, she didn't fancy being out there with all those children.

When the last student was sorted into a house, Dumbledore stood up again.  
„Only a few announcements before we can rightfully dig into the long awaited meal of the day." He smiled gently. „First, I want to point out to the first years – and also some of the older students – that the forbidden forest has it's name for a reason. I can't tell you what's worse, actually. Get caught by the numerous creatures within, or our caretaker Apollyon Pringle for the matter. The last thing would be the introduction of our new Teacher for Defense against the dark Arts, please, everyone, welcome Professor Johnathan Cranes." A young man next to Professor Flitwick stood up at those words, briefly lifting his hand for a greeting when the student body applauded at his introduction.

After Dumbledore finished his short speech, he sat down and looked full of expectation at his plate, where the empty porcelain changed almost immediately. All the tables ached now under the pressure of the tons of delicious food.  
Hailey immediately started to fill her plate with almost everything she could get hold of. Hermione was a lot more reluctant, as she had more time now to observe her surroundings secretly.

„Hailey? Could you tell me a little about the Professors, please?" She had asked about all the teachers, even those she did knew from the future, since it would have looked strange to only ask for specific ones. But she was curious about the others she had never seen before. Also, she would like to know how the professors were viewed in this time. Maybe she could learn something new.

„Ah, yes, of course." Hailey managed to say with an awful lot of broccoli in her mouth. Let's start on the left side. At the end of the table, we have Professor Slughorn, the headteacher of Slytherin and the potions-teacher, be careful around him. He is someone with clear pronounced preferences for students. Even has something he calls the „Slug Club", where he and his favorite students have chats, dinner parties and so on…I really don't get that concept. Well, whatever. Next to him, there is Professor Vector. She's teaching Arithmancy, but I can't really tell you much about her, I never had that subject. Next to her is…" Hailey went on with her explanations. Hailey mostly described what subject they would teach and what her personal opinion of them was. „And on the right end of the table, that is the new guy Dumbledore had introduced, about him I know as much as you."

At that, Hailey frowned and put her fork down, which she had used to occasionally shovel some food in her mouth, while still managing to speak an impressive amount of words. „Actually, this is something everyone in Hogwarts finds odd. You know, there wasn't two years in a row while I attended that school and I had the same DADA-Teacher. There is some reason every year that the teacher can't stay the next one. Sometimes it's disease, sometimes family circumstances…The Professor from last year suddenly got dragon pox and had to go to St. Mungo's. Dragon pox, in this century! And there were also strange reasons for the Professors in the years before as well. I once asked Flitwick about this and he said this was actually going on for some years before I even entered the school. Pretty mysterious, right?"  
Hermione nodded slowly, trying to make a confused-but-kind-of-intrigued face at that statement. _Mysterious is one word for it, I guess._

Hailey obviously had finished her speech, clearly focussing on her food now, letting Hermione lost in thought. There were still things to observe for her curious mind. It didn't happen everyday that you could get a first-hand peek at the past, at all. She had made her detailed research, which included a list of all the people she knew or would encounter in the future and went to Hogwarts with at this time. It were more than Hermione expected and – even worse – most of them belonged to Slytherin and therefore to the dark side. She wasn't too scared about most of the people, as she wouldn't encounter most of them in classes or school, but she still was curious how they behaved around Hogwarts in their younger years. The Ravenclaw-Table was next to the Slytherin-Table at the end of the hall, so it was quite easy to observe the students inconspicuous.

The first one she saw was no other than Lucius Malfoy, easily recognizable through his platinum blond hair, but at this time merely a meager 14 or 15-year old boy with a smug grin his son should inherit decades later. He was speaking to two other Slytherins, both looking pretty much bulky and a little dense, they mostly nodded while shoveling tons of food into their mouths. Really, the resemblance was almost ridiculous.

A few places further sat another light-blond-headed person, always stealing glances in the direction of the young Lucius, turning bright red whenever she did so. Hermione almost didn't recognize Narcissa Malfoy, – or right now, Black – the little 13-year old girl looked so much more lively and fragile than the stern matron she would become in the future. Next to her sat, with a pitying smile, her sister Andromeda, patting her shoulder. She hadn't met Andromeda in the future yet, but couldn't imagine it to be anyone else. And, not exactly near them, but also not too far away, not even 15 meters away from Hermione actually, there sat the person she was scared the most of. When she realised she would be in the same graduation year as this person, she first let out a small whimper, debating a last time strongly if it really was a good idea to change to that timeline. Sitting lazily in her chair, only stirring in a bowl of soup and not seeming interested in participate in talking to anyone, pure boredom written on her face.

The young and at this time still unmarried Bellatrix Black.

Hermione actually needed a few seconds to recognise her as the lunatic death-eater she had met at the department of mysteries in her fifth year. It was mostly her big head of raven curls who gave her identity away, which was at that time not shine- and lifeless after the yearlong abuse in Azkaban, but had a strong shimmer to it, which seemed to be even intensified by the candle light of the Great Hall. Even if her expression didn't give away the semblance of a cheerful and carefree girl, she also didn't look haunting or too scary at that moment either. Actually, Hermione had to admit, she was somehow pretty. Since she sat so near to Hermione, even in the dim light of the candles it was possible to see her features quite clearly. Without rotten teeth, harpy-like fingernails or the general look of insanity her real beauty came to shine. _Actually, she's gorgeous._ Hermione thought fascinated at the fact how much a person could change over the years. _I wonder of her future-self ever mourned after her looks._ High cheekbones, framed by unique and strong facial features. Flawless, porcelain-like skin and ruby red lips, she looked a lot like a skillfully crafted doll.

Hermione didn't realise that she was staring at her for quite some time, fascinated by this paradox in front of her, trying to merge those two women she had seen into one. She snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed that Bellatrix was pulled out of her boredom and stared directly in her eyes, realising that she was watched. Hazelnut met charcoal. The icy-glance Bellatrix offered her was enough to let Hermione shut her gaze down with a deep blush at being caught, a cold shiver went through her spine as she quickly turned around to avoid the gaze. This was rather what Hermione expected from the future death-eater, even if it wasn't as scary as her later self in the ministry of magic had been. It was still enough to not let Hermione look around for a good measure of time, especially as she could still feel Bellatrix gaze on her. Thankfully, Hailey demanded her attention at that point. At this time, even if Hermione had barely eaten because of her agitation, the Dinner was replaced by tons of delicious sweets.

„Jean!" Hailey said gleefully, as she, without asking, shoveled what seemed to be a whole mountain of chocolate and strawberry ice-cream on her plate. Does she want to make sure I am eating enough? „Let me introduce our third roommate to you. This is Pandora, but almost everybody just calls her Dee. Dee, this is Jean, our new roommate. Looks like it will get less lonely for us this year!"

On the other side of the table, another girl smiled at Hermione. She had light blonde hair and blue eyes. At the first glance she looked a lot more like Narcissa than her actual sisters, but they had quite different facial features. As all the black sisters had high cheekbones and an all-in-all aristocratic look, Dee had more of a heart-shaped, friendly face. Which, at that point, was full of excitement.

„Nice to meet you, Jean." She said. „Good to have you on board, a Dorm room should inherit more than just two people in Hogwarts, I always told Hailey how nice it would be to get someone to join us…"  
And then, they started to chat further. Hailey and Dee started to explain a lot more about the school to Hermione. Most of it, obviously, Hermione had known before, but some information, mostly regarding Ravenclaw, were rather interesting and useful for her. But mostly, she was happy to be welcomed so warmly by her new house- and roommates. She also got to know that Dee had a twin brother named Talos, who was sorted into Hufflepuff and would join them in some of their classes.

A while after that, Dumbledore told them it was time for bed. He wished them a successful year, hoping that „everybody would find what they were searching for". Most of the students waived it away as an empty phrase, but Hermione had the feeling, a light blue gaze would pierce her for the fraction of a second before he told them off to bed and wished them a good night.

Hermione almost started to order the first-years around and to lead them to their dorms – until she realised that she wasn't a Prefect neither in this year, nor in this house. Quite a bit mournfully she watched how Dee waved them goodbye for the moment to search for the younger students. Hailey just shook her head on this. „Man, I am sad for the Professors that they only had two options for the Prefect-job in our year, I guess it was difficult to tell who would be the worse candidate." She laughed. „But I guess Dee quite grew into her job. But the things she did in her fifth year, I tell you…" Happily chatting, they slowly started to go to their – yes, for THIS year it was also hers – Dorm to get some well earned sleep, even more in Hermione's case. She couldn't refrain from glancing back to Bellatrix a second time, who still sat at her place, sporting the same bored look again, thankfully not catching Hermione again looking at her. She obviously wasn't chosen to be a Prefect by the Professors. Instead, she saw a rather determined Andromeda ordering some younger students around. She chuckled. Was that the way she would scold Tonks in a few years?

They went the spiral staircase up to the common room, as they stood in front of the door again, together, with three or four other students, albeit chatting, glancing in Hermione's general direction, because they haven't seen her before. They stood in front of a large and beautifully crafted bronze eagle knocker. As an elf had Hermione apparted inside her bedroom, she hadn't seen it yet, but she knew due to „Hogwarts: A history" that this was the entrance to the Ravenclaw-Tower. You could enter if you could solve the riddle the knocker was asking you, as a metaphor for the main treats Ravenclaws should possess: Intelligence and wits.

„What comes down but never goes up?" The knocker asked in a high, croaky voice. It had a slight hostile edge in his voice Hermione couldn't place at the moment.

„Well, also a nice evening to you, Charlene." Hailey said in a caustic manner. „Also missed you a lot. And for your question, If I wouldn't know better, I would answer „my grades". The students behind her chuckled at this comment, but as she saw the not very amused face of the eagle – how it was even possible to recognise facial features in an eagle was actually beyond Hermione –, Hailey sighed. „…But since I know better, my answer would be „rain". Upon hearing that answer, the knockr opened the door for them, but as Hermione had passed by, she saw a small hint of disappointment in the eagles face.

„He always hopes that one day I won't have an answer and are forced to sleep outside for the night. But until now, it never worked." She smiled cheekily. „But really. No clue why he hates me that much."

Hermione frowned. „He?" Didn't you just call him „Charlene"?

„Well, in my first and second hear he tried to convince Dumbledore from kicking me out of the dorms for calling him like that. But still, I think it's rather cute and by now you would think he should have gotten used to it." She stated almost matter-of-factly.

Hermione had an inking why the eagle-knocker might disliked Hailey.

She also had to admit that the Ravenclaw Common room looked astonishing. She had been kind of curious, as she hadn't visited any other Common rooms than Gryffindor until now and felt a little like an intruder. Regardless, the midnight blue carpeting on the high ceiling, the comfortable atmosphere which was enhanced through a big fireplace and a lot of cozy, blue chairs were much to her liking.  
They went up to their dorms – Hailey said goodnight left and right and introduced Hermione to some of the other students who greeted her friendly – and finally settled in. After about fifteen minutes, Dee joined them, but everybody was pretty much too exhausted to talk anymore. Soon everybody said goodnight and Hermione threw herself in the wonderfully soft sheets of her new four poster bed at the left end of the room. It was all in all very nice and cozy, they had a soft, light blue carped, a Bronze Chandelier hanging from the ceiling, now only producing a very dim light, as it was almost bedtime. Also her sheets and blanked had a soft blue-tone, so very differently from her old ones in Gryffindor.

So very different.

And this was the first time since the beginning of her journey, Hermione Granger allowed herself to cry. She put her not needed glasses next to her on her bedside cabinet when she felt her eyes get watery and made sure a last time the curtains on her bed were closed tight. She whispered, to be sure, a quick one-sided silencing charm, so that the others couldn't hear her anymore, but herself was still able to hear them, since it would be strange if she would never answer them. Then, the first tears started to run down her face. It didn't need long until she produced heavy sobs she couldn't suppress any longer. Despite the friendliness she was given from both of her new roommates and a not-so-bad start in whatever she had gotten herself into, she was scared. Scared and lonely. For e few minutes she sobbed in her pillow. She missed her family, her friends, almost everything from the time she belonged to. She felt out of place like never before.

„You're prolly sleepin' by now, guys…" A very drowsy sounding Hailey whispered from the other side of the room", but I am really looking forward to this. Let's make this a wonderful year."

„No, the Flobberworms want to eat all the Dragoneggs, but the music they play is so nice…!" Dee murmured from the bed in the middle, obviously already having a rather fascinating dream.

„That's the spirit…"

That made Hermione, despite everything she felt right now, chuckle between her tears. Hailey was right. She didn't knew what was ahead of her, but she still could try to make the best out of it.

„Yeah, I hope so, too." She whispered, more or less forgetting the silencing spell she casted, slowly drifting into sleep. The last, sluggish thought in her mind was, that she really wanted to know what that Bertie Bott's bean tasted like.

* * *

A/N: So, done again for today, what do you think? Let me know if you can spare a minute :)

Oh, on the note to that Gabor-Granger-method: That's really existing, you can google that shit :D

I also wanted to thank some of the guests, I hope you'll find yourself in here:

Guest: Thank you so much, I really appreciate your words! :) I hope I won't disappoint in the future chapters

Guest: Haha, yeah, I didn't draw the happiest picture for dear Bellatrix (on the other hand, neither did 90% of the Bellamione-community before me :D) We'll see how it goes…

avalynnelfe (silly me forgot to answer to your review for chapter one, I'm sorry for that): I like how far you're thinking, but I plan to make a really nice, long build up, so I'm afraid you have to wait a little until she returns to her own time ;) But I hope I can make worth the wait.

Darkshadow-lord: There you go, hope I didn't disappoint you? :)

Darksnow3: Whoa, where to start. I really really love how much you must've thought about the story, really flatters me :) With some of your suggestions you were almost spot on, as you see, for further interaction we'll have to see. To the point with Narcissa, for example: They've seen in real life in Hermione's sixth year for a couple of minutes…I don't think, even more with Hermione's ‚brilliant' disguise, that this encounter would be enough for her to remember Hermione in the future, even if (and I am not telling you at this point, IF ;) ) they'll have a lot interaction. If you consider that Rita Skeeter wrote articles about Hermione, a lot of people COULD know how she had looked when she was younger. But our Hermione will be smart enough to avoid the biggest problems…maybe. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Hello there again, the next update, have fun :)

* * *

Chapter 4 – A leap in the Dark

„I'm not a faerie but I need  
More than this life so I became  
This creature representing more to you  
Than just another girl  
And if I had a chance to change my mind  
I wouldn't for the world."

Emilie Autumn, Swallow

* * *

The next morning they barely made it to breakfast in time, since everyone of them overslept. Hermione woke up first, slowly adjusting and remembering were she was right now. Then, with the concern of the honor-student she was, she recognized the time and called out for the others, while rubbing her eyes to get rid of her sleepiness.

„Dee, Hailey, we should get up, it's almost time."

No reaction.

„Hey, guys, we're going to be _late_!" She said, now in a louder voice.

Still, no reaction.

Hermione started to get confused, but then remembered the silencing charm she put on her curtains. She briefly lifted it and got, pushing the curtains apart, out of bed.

„Uhm, guys, we should get up now."

Shuffling and moaning from the other beds.

„How late? Really must? Mhhh…" sounded an eloquent and muffled voice beneath the curtains of Hailey's bed. Dee was a little more cooperative, she simply pulled the curtains aside, yawned a little and smiled broadly at Hermione. „Morning, Jean!"

„Morning guys. And, well, yeah. It's twenty minutes till breakfast and we don't have our timetables yet…"

With this, she got Hailey's attention. „What?! Damn, that's way too late!"  
She almost fell out of bed, crumbling to her trunk at the end of the bed and fumbling her cloth out of it. With that, she staked without as much as a second glance to the bathroom. „I was up first, I go first!"

* * *

Exactly 20 minutes later they were in the Great Hall, sitting together at the Ravenclaw-Table and filling their plates with delicious looking breakfast.

„Aah, and there are the timetables! What does yours look like?" Hailey asked Hermione and Dee, as she started to mark the classes she would visit this year while taking an occasional sip of her Coffee. „Yeah, my first class is today after lunch. Ahh, the perks of being a graduating-student…"

„Well", Hermione said while sipping her tea. „This is time we need for studying, alright. This is our graduation-year, so it will be far from relaxing, you know?" This almost felt like a deja-vu she thought, chuckling a little. Ron said something very similar at the beginning of the last year. Well, it didn't seem the students from other houses were that differently in their way of thinking, even the Ravenclaws.

She briefly glanced in the general direction of the Slytherin-Table. This time, she didn't see Bellatrix and felt relieved immediately. She didn't really look forward to see that icy glance again anytime soon. She just hoped she wouldn't have so much classes together with her. She wasn't too concerned with the Slytherin recognizing her in the future, as they never really encountered each other before. At the battle at the Department of mysteries she barely were in the same room with Bellatrix, also, she had looked way younger back then. AND didn't wear fake-glasses. All in all, there was close to zero chance Bellatrix would recognise her later, Hermione mused. If she would have messed up, the dark witch would probably have done something in the future, so she would be fine on this one. Not that she planned to become cozy with her, of course. _Avoiding like the plague_ sounded like the most alluring concept to Hermione.

Hailey sighed. „I know, I know…man, you are no fun… Just give me this moment."

At this point, Dee was finished with the work on her timetable, as she took a peek at Hermione's piece of paper. „What will you decide for? Were the subjects you had at your old school similar? I imagine it to be difficult to adjust to a new timetable in the last year…"

„Uhm, well…" Hermione started. This was one of the easier parts. She had just given Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore the last sheets of her grades from her sixth year. Once they confirmed through some simple spells it was real, it one the one hand left a rather impressed pair of teachers and on the other hand no problems with her attending the classes she already took in the sixth year. Still, she wasn't comfortable with lying to Dee and Hailey, even if it was necessary. „I… was able to adjust what I learned to what I will do here. The Professors said it would be alright, so I don't think it will be a big problem…"

„Now, Hailey also peeked on her paper sheet, frowning a little. „Jean… how much classes do you intend to take?"

„Eight, why?"

„ _Eight_?! The regular amount of courses to take is either 5 or 6! Even students with 4 subjects will have no problems to find a job later. Just because it is possible, you really shouldn't overdo it!"

„I am confident I can manage." Hermione smiled. I've always liked a good challenge for studying."

„Such a cliché. Either way you are perfectly well-sorted to Ravenclaw or you should be in Gryffindor because of the probably stupid braveness you are showing right now."

Hermione had to grin at that.

* * *

Her and Dee's first lesson happened to be potions with Professor Slughorn. While Hailey gleefully waved at them, while they made their way down to the dungeons, probably to do something completely non-related to studying.

They went down to the classroom. Hermione, always cautious not to show that she knew were they had to go, but letting Dee lead and occasionally asking questions about the Castle and their surroundings. When they entered the classroom, most of the other students were already there, Dee took her time to explain carefully to Hermione were she could get the ingredients for her potions and something like this. When Hermione looked around, the first thing she realised was that it were decidedly less students than she would have guesses, but she assumed it only made sense. This was the last year and only the best students were allowed to participate in the highest class for their graduation. They had this potion class together with the Gryffindors, therefore the class was made out of four Ravenclaws, the others were boys Hermione didn't met before, and four Gryffindors, luckily she also didn't recognize any of them. She sat down next to Dee, who went to the table were the Ravenclaw-Boys already sat. One with light brown hair and a round, friendly face and big glasses that he probably really needed in contrast to Hermione, introduced himself as Mike, while the other one had curly, dark hair, a smug grin and said his name was Vincent. There was something oddly familiar about him, which Hermione wasn't to comfortable with. She didn't have the time to think about it either, as Professor Slughorn entered the room at this moment. The younger Slughorn looked basically what Hermione remembered him from the future. Fancy cloth, wide gestures and a patronising expression.

„Well, well…" He said, smiling warmly while examining their faces, greeting one or two of the students with a delighted smile. „Lovely to see so many of the young, talented witches and wizards again in my class this year. Ah, McLaggen, it's good to see you! I hope your holidays were pleasing?"  
On their table, the boy named Vincent shifted. He put his elbow on the table in front of him in a manner which looked both smug and relaxed. „Ah, yes, thank you Professor. I was mostly hunting on the land my family owns, next to a little skiing in Switzerland." He moved his hand in a not-that-it's-important-way and said „But mostly I missed the meetings of the Slug-Club, of course."

Hermione barely listened to the speech Vincent had held, after which Slughorn gave him another warming smile and a nod –She saw Dee rolling her eyes from the side– , because finally the answers snapped in their places. Vincent McLaggen. From how he behaved and looked – they actually had very similar facial features, which Hermione didn't realise first– he could only be Cormac McLaggens father.

 _Well, this certainly explains my sudden feeling of discomfort._ Hermione thought, feeling the familiar mixture out of shame, embarrassment and doubting of her own sanity whenever she was remembered of her luckily short involvement with Cormac McLaggen. She was thrown out of her thoughts when Slughorn shifted his eyes in her direction.

„And who might you be, Miss..? I can't remember having you seen here before."

Now, Hermione encountered one of the first hurdles she would have to take. Even if just briefly, Professor Slughorn knew her from the future, so she had to make sure she would not be remembered by him. Luckily, in their sixth year, Harry had been the absolute star of his class, so she didn't stand out as much as she mostly did thanks to her intellectual accomplishments. But again – if she would have messed up, Slughorn and every other teacher would have recognised her in one way or another in the future. She just needed to play safe.

„No Sir, I was tutored somewhere else, I just came here to finish my education. My name is Jean Gabor." She answered politely, but way more aloof than Vincent had talked to him.

Luckily, he didn't question her any further. „Well, I hope you will enjoy my class then, and welcome in Hogwarts!" He simply said, now continuing with his lesson.

„Now, without further interruptions, we will get started this year. Does anyone of you know the potion called „Eloquentia"?"

The class was mostly covered in confused silence, only three students showed an reaction, which ranked from amazement to excitement. All three students raised their hands. One was, obviously, Hermione, who was fascinated at the mentioning of Eloquentia. The other one, next to her, was Dee, who looked equally enthusiastic. The third person was a boy from Gryffindor, who wore his long, brown hair in a ponytail.

„Yes, Miss Gabor, enlighten us." Slughorn said.

„Well, Eloquentia, also known as _the liquid art of convincing_ could be practically described as crafted persuasive power. Depending on how strong the potion is or how much is taken by the user, he can convince the person they talk to in the duration time to almost everything, ranging from minor tasks to suicide."

Slughorn nodded contently. „Yes, exactly, Miss Gabor. 10 points to Ravenclaw for that excellent definition. As Miss Gabor said, the potion enables the drinker with a tremendous power of eloquence, which it is listed as a forbidden potion. Can anyone recall why?" Again, a few hands in the air.

„Yes, Miss Dawson?" First, Hermione was confused when Dee was starting to talk, until she realized she just didn't know her last name until now.

„Well, you could misuse it in a lot of cases…politics, economy…" Dee trailed off.

„Exactly. That's why we had, when the potion was discovered, big problems with the regulation of it, which led to a new law and occasional tests of Eloquentia-misuse, when everybody is just suspiciously agreeable with some suggestions. The dosage is important, since, as Miss Gabor correctly said, you could also convince someone to suicide, murder and basically anything. It is comparable to the imperio-curse, but without the option for a quick spell-lifting, also there is no victim who would want to fight against a curse, because there simply isn't one. For example, in 1697 there was a man, called Archibald the Arsonist, who tried to convince the wizengamot that _generally being on fire_ was a very good idea. And only in the last minute they considered misuse of Eloquentia to avoid the worst of the situations. Luckily, some of the ingredients are very rare and difficult to get, but mostly the crafting process is, where most people, even experienced potioneers, mess up."  
Hermione actually leaned a little forward at that. She had heard some things about eloquentia, even the history of misuse, but didn't know much about the process to create the potion. It would be a challenge to create it, one she looked pretty much forward to it. Finally something to her liking!

„Next to the general mixing of ingredients–„ He flicked his wand shortly, the list of ingredients and a instructions for the potion appeared on the cupboard–„Is after you finished mixing the ingredients. The potion wont be finished or work in the slightest, until you convince it to work."

This left the whole class utterly stunned.

„So…how do we convince it?" A Gryffindor Girl carefully asked.

„By talking to it."

„What?! It can speak?!"

For that, Slughorn let out a hearty laugh. „Oh, no no, nothing like that. Regardless, you have to talk to the potion. Or any other way of convincing it to work. The magic of the potion mostly feels the conviction in your voice and how strong your desire of creating is. To summarise, if the potion doesn't feel like being created or doesn't see a sense in it, it won't work in the end. So, I would suggest you to start, the potion needs quite some time to prepare. You will work in pairs of two, help yourself with the ingredients, as always. Miss Gabor, Miss Dawson will explain everything to you. Good luck, then!"

With that, he strolled back to his desk and sat back down, opening a newspaper that looked like a copy of the daily prophet.

„So, let's get going? First, we need some Speedwell and Pimpinella…" Dee asked her with a cheerful smile, as she showed Hermione where they would get the ingredients. The preparation was quite complex, but luckily Hermione and Dee were a good team, as both of them tended to perfection. Dee was meticulously cutting some Speedwell while Hermione pounded the Pimpinella together with some drops of water into a fine goo. They carefully adjusted the heat and the times of stirring as they added the ingredients. After about half an hour, they were finished with the first part of the potion, which had the, according to Slughorn, ‚characteristic blue-shimmering teint'. They actually were the first to finish and both shared a little smirk as Slughorn praised their work, getting 10 points for Ravenclaw again. She saw some of the Gryffindors seething – understandably, as they didn't get any points yet, making Hermione feel a little like a traitor again, as she obviously helped Ravenclaw with the house cup this year. But when she saw Vincent's face, he also didn't look too happy. That let Hermione smirk again. He obviously didn't like being outplayed as a star-pupil.  
When everyone had reached the right state of the potion – Slughorn had carefully inspected every of their potions – he spoke again. „Now the interesting part of this lesson begins. I had this potion made sometimes in my classes and I have to admit, the suggestions some students have for convincing were utterly hilarious. I am most interested in your solution, ladies and gentlemen."

Dee and Hermione both looked at the potion, then at each other.  
„Soo…" Dee asked carefully. „Any suggestions how to convince that potion?"  
„Not really." Hermione admitted. Right now, she couldn't think of anything absolutely convincing to tell the potion. Well, it felt weird to tell the potion something in the first place."Let's just get started, I think. We can't do anything wrong by trying, right?"

And with that, they started. Dee's first attempt was kind of a plea, if the potion would be so nice to work, as they needed it for their class. Needless to say, this didn't work at all. Next was Hermione who tried to argue mostly logically. That there wasn't any reason NOT to work and everyone would benefit from it. No luck either. As they kept trying, they became more frustrated, as nothing they tried seemed to work at all. It was Dee's turn again. She was in the middle of a wide exclamation about the „honor of being a working potion", when Hermione gazed to the other students. They didn't seem to do better at that point. Mike was desperately trying to stop Vincent from hexing the potion, who pointed the wand at the cauldron, seemingly threatening it. At the Gryffindor-Table, three of the Gryffindors were laughing frantically at a fourth girl, who looked utterly embarrassed and had apparently tried to convince the potion by _flirting_.

Hermione tried to think logically. None of their attempts had worked so far. Why? They needed a strong conviction for the potion to work, which was absolutely extraordinary for a potion. Yes.. for a potion. Hermione frowned when an idea occurred in her mind. Even if there were no potions, there were quite some charms and hexes could only be casted if you concentrated on certain emotions. The first one that came to mind was obviously the patronus-charm, which required the feeling of happiness. Actually, Potions was one of the very few subject at Hogwarts which didn't require the direct use of magic at any time, but concentration and organized working. But if this potion would need a combination of those…

„Dee? I think I want to try something."

„Thank god.." Dee said exhausted, letting herself fall into her chair. „I could also have just sang a song right now, the potion would be equally impressed. Good luck."

They had 10 minutes until the lesson was over and so far no one had excelled at convincing the potion. Hermione shoved her chair next to the caldron, leaned in and tried to concentrate on the feeling of conviction, twirling around in her body alongside with her magic. It was the conviction of her need to excel at studies. The conviction to need to finish the potion. She even touched the edge of the caldron. „It is utterly important that this potion will work. You _will_ work now." she whispered in the sincerest voice she could muster.

After Hermione finished her sentence, the potion started to bubble. Every head in the classroom snapped to their caldron, as it slowly changed it's color, from the translucent blue into a dark, shimmering violet.

„ _Marvelous_!" Slughorn cheered, as he rushed along to inspire their potion. Perfectly done, Miss Gabor and Miss Dawson. I am very pleased with your performance. You understood the need to enhance your conviction with the magic that flows through your body. That is also for the rest of the class to be remembered. Sadly, fanatics like Archibald also never had a problem to be convincing enough."  
He cleared his throat, looking at Dee and Hermione. „No homework for you both! The rest of you will research about this potion and write a two-feet paper about why you couldn't manage to create a working potion. And, as a little extra bonus…" With this, he got near the potion of Dee and Hermione and leaned above it. They heard a small clink and shortly after, Professor Slughorn handed both of the young witches a small bottle with about a spoon full of the fuzzy violet liquid. „Your rewards" He said, smiling patronising. „Even if you combine it, it wouldn't be enough to be harmful, but maybe you can do something useful with it. I trust you to not misuse it, ladies. And I think, our lesson is over now, until next week."

* * *

„No way!" Hailey said, mouth agape, as Hermione and Dee told her the story from potions class and presented their potion-bottles with a grin. „You were the first, really?! Awesome! How did you do that?!"

„Well, it actually was completely Jean's doing and I feel pretty guilty for just getting rewarded for being in the same group." Dee said with a stricken voice.  
„Oh, that's not true! You worked as hard as I did, I were just a little luckier in the end. You deserve it the same way." Hermione said decidedly.

„Still, not getting Homework for my first lesson is pretty much enough." Dee said and put the small flask into Hermione's hand. „I really don't need it, you can take mine also."

„Are you sure? That's too much!" Hermione said uneasy, trying to give the flask back to the girl.  
But Dee would have none of it. „It actually gives me the shivers. Liquid eloquence? No, thanks, it's all yours. I don't even understand why Slughorn would give us something like this." She firmly closed Hermione's hand around the flask.

Hermione smiled. „I find it rather fascinating, so thank you very much." _Might come in handy some day…_

They were chatting happily for a while and discussing their day so far – according to Hailey she was occupied with „ _highly important stuff_ "– as Hermione spotted Bellatrix entering the great hall. Even if she entered the hall with some other Slytherin students, she had some kind of atmosphere around her, which drew the attention directly to her. She walked in an imperiously manner in the direction of the Slytherin-Table which Hermione would have deemed impossible. But Bellatrix Black's presence was almost palpable to the brunette. She couldn't stop following her with her eyes, when she stalked to a place and sat down like it was a throne, her followers sat down around her, after she had taken her place.

Dee followed her gaze, when Hermione had stopped talking. „You are looking at the girl with the black curls, right? That's Bellatrix Black, also in her seventh year."  
 _Careful now_. „Uhm…yeah. I don't know, she somehow gives off a strange vibe." Hermione said vaguely. She was pretty sure Bellatrix wasn't a saint in her time before being a death eater, so this statement shouldn't be to strange.

To Hermione's confusion, Dee and Hailey laughed. „You have a good eye, alright. She is kind of infamous here. If there is one person you don't want to mess with, it's Bellatrix Black."

„Why is that?" Hermione hoped her face would be indifferent while asking.

„She is a total _menace_ since our first year!" Hailey seethed." Anger obvious in her voice, which Hermione had never heard before from the extroverted witch.  
You see, the first time I tried to talk to her, which was actually two weeks after attending Hogwarts for the first time, she _hexed my voice away_! I couldn't talk for at least four hours! Goddammit, and this was one of the nicer things she did. Most students are scared shitless of her!"

„You probably got on her nerves, and you talked even more back then." Dee said in a dry voice. „I highly considered asking her for that spell at some times, but I have to admit that I was also pretty scared of her." Hailey softly slapped the back of her head for that, but shrugged after a few seconds, as to admit that Dee was right. „Hailey was one of the last students trying to talk to her at that time. Her sisters – she has two of them, both Slytherin– and some of the other Slytherins can deal with her… or rather, she allows them in her presence. If you're from any other house, you're out. She often is seen alone, though. Can't deal with people that much, it seems."

„Hm…sounds strange to me." Hermione said, thinking that this actually fit the picture she had of a young Bellatrix. Even if she didn't get why she chose to be rather isolated at such a young age. Sure, her educational background due to her parents made her the same pure-blood-fanatic as all of them, When did you start to become who you're in my time? Was it as a child? Was it this morning, at your first lesson? Is it right now, while you eat your Lunch? Or did something happen to you later in your life, something horrible, that defined what you'll become…

„Actually, you can make the experience yourself." Hailey said, as she popped the last piece of apple into her mouth. „Our next class is transfiguration together with the Slytherins. We're probably sitting in the same class now."

* * *

They entered the classroom and sat down. Hermione sat next to the table of Hailey and Dee, when three other Ravenclaws entered the room. Mike and Vincent she already knew, but together with them was a boy with short, dark hair she hadn't seen before. That guy and Vincent sat down together, Mike taking his place next to Hermione, albeit not without asking very politely if he could take it. Hermione smiled and gestured him to sit down. She decided she would rather sit with Mike, as he didn't seem to be as arrogant as Vincent.

By now, all of the students seemed to be there. Four Slytherin boys sitting next to each other and one Slytherin girl, sitting close by, but alone. As in all her grace, Bellatrix, who entered the room last, sat behind the other Slytherins, playing with her wand, seemingly bored out of her mind.

Then, Professor McGonagall entered the room. Hermione was still astonished how young her teacher looked right now. But the stern expression seemed to be still the same. She probably also had it as a student.

„Well, students. Congratulation on entering this class. Nothing less than your best performance will be expected of you. Nothing about this will be childs-play either, you have to work hard and concentrate on your studies to finish your N.E.W.T.S. McGonagall continued with her speech which Hermione took moderately serious. She knew this wasn't the reason she was sent back here, but nonetheless she was determined to excel at her studies even in this time period. McGonagall hat ended her speech by now „For starters, lets see what you all forgot during your holidays…"

Hermione hadn't the time to mourn about the fact that she basically finished the sixth year and started into the seventh without so much as even an hour of holiday. But well, this also was one of her lesser problems. By then, McGonagall had put some Teacups on the table in front of her. With a flick of her wand, three cups levitated in front of every student."  
„I want you to transform those teacups. But this time, you will try to transform it into a _magical_ creature."  
That actually made the whole class whisper. Transfiguration itself was a very complicated field of magic, but transfiguring something not-living into a not only living but magical creature was rumored unbelievably difficult. After one throat-clearing from McGonagall the class was silent again.

„Yes, this form of magic is not easy and on a different level to what you have done before. But, this is the graduation class of transfiguration and I expect nothing but the best from my students in here. The magic is basically the same, it just needs sensitiveness and concentration. I don't expect you to excel in todays lesson, you are just supposed to gain a feeling for this kind of work. The more evolved the creature, the more difficult the transformation is, of course. So I suggest you start with _Dugbogs_ , as they are very low-evolved and therefore relatively easy to transfigure…"  
Hermione felt like she sat in her first year of Hogwarts again. It was decidedly difficult to transfigure the teacup into a Dugbog. Almost every student was struggling.

After only her fifth try though, Hermione managed to transfigure her teacup into something that looked like a piece of wood that was slowly breathing. It moved a little around and seemed mostly startled. Even if some of the grain looked suspiciously like the pattern of the teacup, she thought she could be proud of herself. Every other student she saw was still struggling. Hailey had the problem that she had partly transfigured her Cup, which only meant that it got some kind of legs and promptly jumped from the desk to break into shards with a loud klirr that she had to repair it. Dee somehow had managed to transform her cup into a red, gooey mass she now inspected rather excitedly as she poked it with her wand.

Hermione couldn't suppress the small, smug grin that emerged in her face. It was nice to be the on top of the class, after all, even if she now had to compete with Ravenclaws. She raised her hand to ask professor McGonagall for new instructions. Her hand wasn't even halfway up when McGonagall started to speak. „Miss Black, yes?" „I am finished with that thing." She said with a deep voice, levitating the irritated Dugbog in front of her with a bored face. „What's next."  
„Nice work, Miss Black. „Please, transfigure it back and think of any magical creature you seem possible to transfigure it, it is the same concept. Oh, Miss Gabor, you are finished as well?"

Hermione, who had viewed Bellatrix with mouth agape, gulped and looked at Professor McGonagall.

„Ah, yes."

Bellatrix looked at her with a rather incredulous expression, and, if Hermione recognised it right, with a little anger in it. Quickly, she looked away, she didn't need to be the next thing Bellatrix would transfigure. Rather, she would think about what to transform next. She already managed to transfigure the Dugbog back at her second try and was up to a challenge.

After a short period of thinking, she decided to go for a Doxy, a small fairy-like insect. She didn't particularly like them, remembering the stressful hours at Grimmauld Place, as they tried to get rid of a Doxy swarm, but therefore she knew their appearance in every inch by heart and was sure she could manage. Even if she soon realized that this was way more complicated than the earlier task. Doxys had an almost human appearance, therefore they were way more developed than Dugbogs für the first time, she couldn't make any progress at all. Actually, only after 45 minutes, she managed a final breakthrough, when her cup – she now viewed it with a mild frustration – started to change into the form of a Doxy. A small, human-shaped insect with large, buzzing wings, all covered in black fur. Okay, it looked a little dull, the shape wasn't as perfect as a normal Doxy would have been. More like a plump woman-in-her-forties-style, but still. She was again rather proud of herself. Her friends, who had more or less managed by now to transform their cup into a Dugbog looked at her in awe, which made her blush a litte. She felt brave enough too watch Bellatrix for a second, who also had managed to transfigure her cup again. She seemed to have created an Imp – Hermione remembered them from her second year – right now, a small smile tucked to the corner of her face, as Bellatrix levitated the imp in front of her, who was absolutely not content and protested, albeit silently. It seemed Bellatrix had charmed him to keep quiet, was didn't help with the imps temper at all. Still… Hermione was pretty sure, an Imp wasn't as highly developed as a Doxy. She couldn't help that small grin again, being pretty sure she had won that round. „So, congratulations." Professor McGonagall said. „Most of you have transfigured their cup into a Dugbog by now and also transfigured it back successfully. I have to admit, that's a rather admirably performance. Two students, albeit, have truly excelled today. And I don't speak compliments easily. 20 Points to Ravenclaw, for Miss Gabor's Doxy. 20 Points to Slytherin for Miss Blacks transfiguration to an Ashwinder and an also an Imp. Good work from both of you. You may go now, until next week."

„Ooh, one of the Slytherin boys whispered so quietly, Hermione almost didn't here it. Seems Bella isn't the only ace-student this year. That poor girl."

* * *

After the class – Bellatrix had left without so much as another glance – Hermione, Hailey and Dee walked slowly back to their dorm do get some work done before they had dinner. „Okay, I have to pronounce it again." Hailey said, starting the subject again for the, like it seemed, hundredth time. „You are not only smart, you are smart-smart. That's not talented, its talented-talented. Ravenclaw probably isn't good enough for –„

„Oh, shut up!" Hermione said finally, wearing a full blush since they left the classroom. „Its nothing special…"  
„I have to disagree." Dee said, smiling cheerfully at Hermione. „You are mostly extraordinary. I bet you'll set some records at the end of the term."  
Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her place. „Well, thanks, but…uhm."

„Wow, you behave like you never got a compliment for anything you did. Had your old school been that bad?" Hailey said with a raised eyebrow. „You are in Ravenclaw now. We actually acknowledge talent and intelligence. Good thing you are with us, now."

Hermione smiled at that. It wasn't exactly true that she never got any compliments for her achievements, but mostly, the other students acted more annoyed with it. Even her best friends, Harry and Ron, had often rolled her eyes at her academic efforts. Especially Ron…

„But, well." Hailey chuckled. „Black really seemed kind of annoyed. Well, not that it's easy to tell, cause she always looks like she hates almost everything. But it's certainly true that there hardly is any match for her in school activities. If she wouldn't be such a menace she would probably have been placed in Ravenclaw as well. If you are equally good in the other subjects this will maybe be the year someone kicks Black from her throne."

Hermione thought at the glance Bellatrix shot her and the whisper of the Slytherin boy and frowned a little. Still, the last thing she wanted was to become Bellatrix Black's rival. When her reputation was that bad even in her young years, she could truly relinquish her wrath.

Thankfully, their classes were over for today, and soon after Dinner they withdraw to their common room. _(„What begins temporary, but ends permanent?" Dee was the first to suggest the letter „t" that time.)_

Hermione settled down at one of the large tables to start with her homework on transfiguration. Mild surprise hit her, when Hailey and Dee wordlessly sat next to her at the table to start with their own work. Mostly, Hermione used to be the only one in House Gryffindor who started her homework early. On most occasions she had to help out Harry and Ron when they only started in the last minute. She also noticed, even if there was a lot of comfortable chatting and cheering at the common room, it wasn't as loud and chaotic as it was for the Lion-House. She realised, like almost everything, she actually missed the loud voices, even if it was a nice change to once do her homework in peace and not sitting in the library for that. With that, she – and also Dee and Hailey – finished their homework the same day earlier than expected – also, because Dee and Hermione didn't get homework in potion – so they could settle next to the fire when most of the other students had gone to bed, and participate in the chatting. Hailey had been away for a short time and came back with her arms full of butterbeer, only winking at Hermione when she asked how she got those. Relaxed, with the bottles of delicious butterbeer in their hands, they talked happily, until they yawned frequently enough to decide to go to bed.

* * *

The next morning thankfully didn't start as hectic as the last. They managed to be at breakfast on time and didn't have to hurry while eating. The next class all three of them were attending, which was charms, what Hailey seemed to be genuinely excited about. They had class together with the Hufflepuffs and Hermione was informed that they meet up with Dee's twin brother Talos, whom she hadn't met before.

Dee, on the other side, seemed to be pretty much vexed. A quick look at her timetable showed why. Other then Hermione, who had her lessons pleasantly distributed to four days, free on friday, Dee had all of her Lessons on Monday and Tuesday. Which meant that there were 4 classes she had to attend today. „I will fall asleep in astronomy!" Dee whined in exasperation, as she looked her timetable over and over, ruffling her hair. „That's not humanly possible."

„It is." Hailey said drily. „As you very much know, I had a similar week last year. It's not so bad once you get used to it. And. „Her face lit up and she grinned at Dee."Actually, would be a nice chance to try coffee, don't you think?" She looked the Ravenclaw table up and down. „Ah, there it is!" She said, stood up and grabbed a small jug a few feet away. As she returned, she took two mugs and purred them the dark, steaming liquid.

„Here."  
Dee looked at her. „No. This looks disgusting."  
„Come on, don't be like that. You want too, Jean?" Hermione shook her head. She had never been good with caffein and she didn't need to feel like jumping all morning. But Dee's statement was interesting.

„Have you never tried coffee, Dee?"

„Well, I never had the chance." She said, staring suspiciously at the brown liquid, taking a sniff.

„It's not part of the wizarding-culture" Hailey stated matter-of-factly, taking a deep sip from her Coffee and sighing contently. „Or have you ever seen a wizard drinking coffee?"

Hermione frowned, she hadn't. „Why is that?"

„Well, it's simply not common." If wizards want to stay awake, they can just make some potion for it. I have a deal with the elves that they sent this one jug to the table every morning, as I am pretty much the only person here drinking it.

„And how did you get the elves to do that for you?"

„Well…that would be telling."

„Figures."

„Okay, fine! I'll give it a try!" Dee said. And – After Hailey purred her a little Milk in the steaming beverage to soften the shock a little, She took a tiny, careful sip.

She made a face. „Bitter!"

„Hey, you'll get used to it." Hailey said, as she drank a large gulp from hers. „Go on."

* * *

Charms was, in contrast to Transfiguration, a rather relaxed affair.

The first person Hermione was introduced to was Dee's brother Talos, a tall and equally blonde guy, who shook Hermione's hand welcomingly, hugged her sister and ruffled Hailey's hair.

„I wish you would be a little smaller so I could do the same to you."

„I'll stop when you admit that Hufflepuff is the greatest house."

„Never, dimwit. What the fuck do you even have to know for this? Like, a monkey could join your house."

„Hard to argue with, especially since you told me the hat strongly argued if you should go to Hufflepuff."

„Yes, remind me to never drink with you again."

Hermione watched them silently and actually was fascinated by that display of friendship between the houses. She hardly had friends outside of Gryffindor, with the exception of Luna maybe, but now questioned why that was the case. She had the feeling, back in her time, the separation between the houses had been much bigger than here. She liked that change, but questioned the development.

Then Professor Flitwick - also mostly as Hermione remembered him - entered the room cheerfully. Other than the other professors he liked to start his lessons with a little playtime, so he gave them a lot of pillows and feathers to generally enjoy themselves and get a feeling for their magical flow again, but, to motivate them, would the one who „generally impressed him the most" at the end of the lesson get an extra 20 points for their house.

So they started with a light mood, having fun while charming the countless different objects Flitwick had given them for practice.

Soon, however, it was clear that their wasn't a real competition. Since nobody actually tried to match Hailey's performance und rather watched her doing the magic. There was a cheerful concentration in her face which Hermione hadn't seen from her since they met. She almost looked like she danced, as she charmed several different objects to perform something together. Hermione couldn't change it, she stared in awe at the… _art_ Hailey had created in this classroom.  
It was almost hypnotic to watch. When Hailey for example charmed the books in the room to behave like a swarm of fish, dancing through the air and showing different figures – there was a large bird who playfully flattered through the air, a tiger that ran it's rounds along the walls, the face of a girl Hermione didn't know and – what let most of the people burst out into laughter – a certainly accurate portrait of Dee's brother Talos, albeit with a formidable mustache in his face.

It was certainly rare to see someone in their element like that. Maybe like Harry when he was playing Quidditch. _No, this isn't quite it._ She mused, _maybe, if Hailey would cast an patronus, she would be thinking of this._  
Dee followed her gaze and smiled. „Hailey always had a knack for charms." She whispered, to not disturb the blonde witches concentration." She slacks in a lot of the other subjects, but this was always hers. Flitwick _adores_ her. But well, who doesn't when she's like that? I mean… quiet and focused for the first time in ages." Both grinned at each other, the class still cheered for the mustache-head of Dee's twin-brother. Even Talos laughed and ruffled Hailey's hair while Professor Flitwick, after he gave Hailey her well-earned 20 points for her efforts, dismissed them to lunch.

After Lunch however – where Hailey forced Dee do drink another cup of Coffee – she excused herself to make a floo call, while Dee and Hermione made their way to the classroom for ancient runes.

This was one of the classes that became so small in the later years that it would be ridiculous to have more actual classes than one, so it was a compilation out of every house. They were less than 10 people who wanted to take their N.E. here, after all.  
They translated ancient scrips about the development of new spells and charms, which seemed to be the most interesting thing for Dee. She told Hermione earlier that there wasn't anything more fascinating to her than how spells get developed, even tried to develop some on her own, which was absolutely impressive for a student.

After the ancient Runes class, Dee's and Hermione's ways parted. Dee had to go to Divination-class, while Hermione decided, after a really short snack in the great hall, to go to the Library to start with her homework in charms and ancient runes. It soothed her more than she thought, to sit in the library again, her unrivaled favorite place in the entire school. Almost nothing seemed to have changed here. Madame Pince, albeit with hazelnut brown instead of white hair, still looked like a hawk, dawning over the students who dared to touch her books, let alone harm them. She settled in her favorite, quiet corner, searched for the literature she would need and indulged in her work. She was so absorbed in her studies that she soon blended all the other students and their small whispers out, only sighing contently from time to time. Yes, now she was in her element again. Actually, way to early for her taste, Madam Pince demanded the few students who had been here in those late hours to go, cause the library would be closing now. Hermione had finished her ancient runes homework and was half-through her assignment for charms, so she decided to continue her work in the common room.

So she quickly exited the library and made her way to the Ravenclaw-tower. It was short before curfew as she heard steps, coming in her direction. Thinking it might be Apollyon Pringle, of whom she had heard a row of terrifying stories thanks to Mr. Weasley, she quickly hid behind the stature of an old wizard, trying to get an Imp of his shoulder, who was in the process of braiding his long hair. The description said „Vincent the vexed" what made Hermione chuckle. He indeed looked a little like Vincent McLaggen. Even if she wasn't technically late at the moment she didn't want to discuss with Pringle right now. But, the person who went past her wasn't Pringle but no other than Bellatrix Black, thankfully being lost in thought and therefore not noticing Hermione, who could have been touching her at one point where she didn't even dare to breath. Bellatrix seemed to hold a small leather-bound folder as she rushed past Hermione, neither going in the direction of the Slytherin-Dungeons nor the astronomy tower for all that Hermione could say.

 _Where is she going?_ Hermione asked herself confused, Bellatrix wasn't a Prefect so technically she wasn't allowed out of her common room either right now. _Well, I would never even assume that she cares about that._ After one or two minutes, Hermione moved again, finally in the direction of the Ravenclaw-Tower. Even if her curiosity was admittedly stirred, she decided to let it go. She didn't need to get in trouble on her third day in this timeline.

* * *

So, that's it for this week. Thank you for your reviews, you have no Idea how much i appreciate them, so please continue!

Guest: Hah, I think Hermione would be pretty much lost without her courage, I don't think you need to worry about that :D

Yuri-Sage: Thank you so much! :) I was a little worried if the new girls would be appreciated, but I was always bugged by the fact how little new characters are introduced in lots of fanfiction. They are both important to the story and will continue to show up, nice to know you liked them :)

I am a little insecure about this chapter, but the best part of the harry potter books for me were always their "ordinary" student life, which also is rarely seen in fanfiction (or at least the ones I've read) so I wanted it to be part of this story. Well, hope you enjoyed it! Till next week, guys.


	5. Chapter 5

Aaaaaand hello there again, it's the weekend and so time for another update.

(One review last time said I should try to shorten the paragraphs since it was a little tiring to read.  
I hope it's better this time :) Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5 – Challenge accepted

„Lucky you, Lucky you, Lucky you that she never knew.  
Oh her name was Bella Belle Soft and smooth like caramel.  
Stop and think ‚bout what you got,  
The girl is trouble, can you tell?"

The Electric Swing Circus, Bella Belle

* * *

When they sat at breakfast together the next day, Hailey and Dee reported what happened in their classes to Hermione, or at least about the classes Hermione didn't attend.

„…well, and, as always, Astronomy is awesome! The sky was crystal clear and we managed to get a pretty good look at the Cassis-eh, Kassiopeia, I mean… ." Hailey went on with her report more or less scientifically on the only nighttime-lesson they had at Hogwarts. „And Dee didn't even fell asleep." She said with a grin in the direction of her best friend, nudging her shoulder in good humor. „What does that tell?" „That I have a better-than-expected stamina, maybe?" She asked with lifted eyebrows. After she saw Hailey's pout, she sighed. „Or maybe, that coffee is actually a good thing."  
Hailey fell back in chair, grinning contently. „And how was divination?"  
„Well, the usual. The old frog who teaches it, Professor Hysteros, is mostly in his own world. Yesterday he tried to teach us advanced crystal-orb reading and obviously nobody got it right. Well, except for Black, of course."

Hermione looked up from her scrambled eggs. „ Be-…Black has divination class?"  
„Yeah, sure, it's always been one of her favorites, I guess." Dee shrugged. „She seems to be pretty talented, even if she's not what you would call a real „medium" like the great Pythia or something. „Why aren't you taking it, actually?"

„Hm, well…" Hermiones cheeks reddened a bit. „I pretty much suck at it. Just isn't for me, I guess."

Dee and Hailey stared at her. „Pretty difficult to imagine a subject you would „suck at", Dee said drily. „But well, you have enough classes anyway. What's your next subject today?"

„Herbology, together with me and the Badgers." Hailey interjected, drinking the last drop from her beloved Coffee.„I'll greet your brother from you."

As they entered the greenhouse, they immediately saw Talos, who casually waved at them, and, as they came closer, again greeted Hermione with a friendly, but still distant handshake, while he ruffled Hailey's hair like in Charms. It seemed to be a ritual between those two.

Professor Sprout entered, with the same mirth like her older self, and encourages them to build up in teams. So Hailey, Talos and Hermione decided quickly to work together. They chatted for a while, until Professor Sprout magically accio'd the plants they were supposed to work with from a formerly closed room of the greenhouse.

Hermione actually believed she had seen most of the strange existences from the magical world. But whatever plant – _hell, was it even a plant?_ – Professor Sprout intended to work with looked so off the charts that Hermione was tempted to pinch her arm to be sure that she wasn't dreaming. The plants were tall, about 1,50 high and had the most alien form she'd ever seen. On the ground were a bunch of heart-shaped leaves, almost as large as a car tire. A thick stem emerged in a form that almost looked… yes, _looked like a sheep_. it had a strange milky-green color and it almost felt as if the plant-sheep was alive! Maybe it was an optical illusion, but it seemed as if the plant was moving, breathing. It gave her a strange, lifelike appearance which Hermione didn't feel too comfortable with.

„So." Professor Sprout said. „Anyone who could tell me what kind of plant we have here?"  
Hermione was at a loss for once and as no one else raised their hand either, so Professor Sprout continued.

„Well, I am not surprised, as this plant counted as extinct until just a few weeks. On my last expedition to south Asia, I had the luck to find probably the last colonies of those beauties and secured a few for our purposes."

Hermione only held mild surprise for the fact that Professor Sprout seemed to go on dangerous journeys to search for formerly-extinct plants, because it finally sunk in what kind of plant this was. And it was mostly exciting.

She raised her hand, Professor Sprout nodded in her direction.  
„ _Agnus scythicus, or the Lamb of tartary_. The last time it was mentioned was within greek mythology. And seemed to be half plant half animal. The greeks attributed it with utmost magical potency."

„Yes, the greeks were right on this. Very good, Miss Gabor. 10 Points for Ravenclaw." Professor Sprout nodded again and turned over in front of the plants.

„ _Agnus Scythicus_ ", as Miss Gabor referred to it correctly, is a magical plant with features an animal would have. For example it can grow wool, it contains a form of blood, but also has poisonous leaves around it's stem. All of them have a high magical potential and need to be taken care of with caution. Due to it's animalistic nature, we also have to take care of the plants in some aspects like we would for an animal. I intend to make these beauties the Project for this year, look forward to that."

She flicked her wand again and a bunch of tools and safety-items were presented in front of them.

„Therefore, since it is the easiest and actually overdue, I'd like you to cut the wool of the plants. It has extraordinary magical abilities and can be used for a variety of magical clothing, like cold- or heat-resisting cloaks. But be careful, they don't really like to be cut, of course."

So, tentatively, after carefully putting on gloves and safety-goggles - Hermione had to put a 20/20-Vision-charm on the goggles since her glasses wouldn't fit unter them, only to remove it again when no one was watching -, the groups of students got closer to their particular plant. Not even two minutes after they started, while Hermione, Hailey and Talos were still discussing their attempt on the plant, a red-haired girl from Hufflepuff cried out, as one of the leaves of the plant transformed into a long, tentacle-like outgrow and slapped hard against her shoulder. It obviously had a magical or rather poisonous effect, as the shoulder of the girl swelled trifold to it's former size. The girl cried out, half in actual pain, half in shock about the sudden attack.

Professor Sprout quickly gave her an antidote and she had to sit down for 15 minutes before her shoulder eventually returned to its normal size. If anything, it encouraged the others to never let their guard down. Hailey, Hermione and Talos decided on a strategy. Talos and Hailey would try to get near the plant and do the actual cutting, while Hermione would cast protegos to aid them from any sudden attack. Professor Sprout told them it would be okay to use magic against but not directly _on_ the plant, because it would probably damage the plants and their magical capabilities in long term, as the wool was pretty fragile before processed.

To Hermione, the plant looked anything but fragile as she swung her tentacle-leaves like whips in the direction of the students. Hermiones protegos were luckily cast quickly, so that, after not even an hour, they were able to shear the plant with the tools they got from Professor Sprout, that looked like hedge clippers with an elongated handle. After being left alone, the now woolless plants calmed almost down immediately and „weren't probably not a threat anymore", as Professor Sprout said.

After they had finished, all of them sweating and breathing heavily, they high-fived about their success and wanted to return their gloves and safety-glasses – because Professor Sprout announced they could leave when they finished the task and should write a 2-feet long paper on the correct way to shear the _Agnus Scythicus_ and their importance to medicine and magical use. They had almost reached the tool-table, when Hermione thought she had heard a sound behind them. Another group, that hadn't done so well was still struggling against the tentacles. And right now Hermione saw how they dodged one jab of it, stopped another but didn't realised the dodged one went out of control, moving to close for comfort to her own group.

Hermione wasn't quick enough on thinking about using her wand again and could only start to shout a quick „ _watch out!_ " when the tentacle flew in their direction.

 _Snap._

Both Talos and Hermione looked with big eyes at Hailey, who immediately had stopped her movement, mouth agape and eyes wide as saucers, but not making a single noise for a few seconds after she was hit by the tentacle.

„ _Are you fucking kidding me?!_ " She suddenly shouted, as she fell over, her backside starting to swell immediately and immensely.

„Oooh, that aim was true, dearie. Let me give you the antidote." Professor Sprout happily said, as she scurried over to the injured girl who just started throwing a tantrum. Even if it was difficult to hear. The whole class was bursting out into laughter.

„Oh, how much bad luck is actually possible?!" Hailey whined as Professor Sprout gave her the potion. Talos lifted her up and carried her to a bench in the back of the greenhouse. It was pretty difficult and Hermione was surprised he managed to do so, as he, on the one side, had to manage with Haileys now exceptionally big behind, on the other side shook so hard with laughter that his whole body shivered, some actually had started crying. Hermione felt a little bad for laughing this hard, but she just couldn't manage to stop.

Slowly, she went after Talos and Hailey, who laid grumpily on her stomach, still looking ridiculously laughable. Talos also still snickered, but patted her shoulder at the same time.

„Look, I wouldn't ask if i wasn't so intrigued, but may I…"

„When you ask if you could touch my butt while it looks like from a hippopotamus I will hex you into next Tuesday as soon as I am able to!"

Talos pointedly looked up the ceiling, hardly able to contain his new wave of laughter.

Hermione smiled at this display. She had the inking since yesterday, but now she was relatively sure those two were a couple or, at least, interested in each other. It reminded her a little of Ron and herself, albeit she flushed a little at this comparison. She couldn't imagine Ron to ask if he could touch her…

„Jay! Could you please come over here? I am yearning for a little less retarded company!"  
Hermione smiled and walked a little faster to save her new friend.

* * *

At Lunch, something completely unexpected happened to the former Gryffindor.

„ _None_ of you is taking Defense Against Dark Arts classes?!" Hermione looked at them with big eyes.

In her timeline, DADA was one of the absolute favorite-classes, almost everyone searched for a chance to duel and improve…

Hailey shrugged: „I totally suck at dueling. I made my O. with Acceptable und was happy I could ditch it then." Hermione shortly had feared she would be mad at their earlier lack of displayed pity in Herbology, but she only waved her hand. („If it wouldn't have been me I would have laughed my ass of. Maybe that wouldn't have been the worst idea. I'm only happy I wore slacks under my Cloak.")

„I also dislike fighting." Dee admitted. „And it's not like we have to defend ourselves against the dark arts on a daily basis, right? Like, there are a bunch of fanatics who wants to kill us around the corner. You only need DADA if you plan to become an Auror or a Battle-mage, the basics are taught in the earlier years, that's enough for sure."

„Uhm, yes, sure…" Hermione didn't know what to say to that.

„Besides" Hailey said, cheerfully eating her cheese-sandwich. „Since ages, Ravenclaw and Slytherin have DADA together, and with Bellatrix Black, I am kind of happy I ditched it. I like my limbs attached to my body, alright."

Hermione stared at her in shock.

„Okay, maybe it's not _that_ severe… But there's been nobody who could get close to Bellatrix dueling skills, as far as I remember. But, uhm-„ She quickly added, as she looked at Hermione again." I am pretty sure you'll do just fine. I mean, you are totally smart'n stuff? Just surprise her again!"

„Yes, sure…" Hermione said, still nothing but worry on her mind as she entered the DADA-classroom.

When Hermione entered her DADA-Classroom, the tables and chairs had been placed at the wall, leaving a big, open space in the middle of the wide, plain classroom.

The students stood in a few bunches together, except for Bellatrix, who, again, stood alone in a corner of the room, leaning against a table. She twirled her wand between her fingers and had a strange look on her face, like a mix between boredom and haughtiness. Hermione knew no one of the students well, she recognized Vincent, but she really didn't want to talk to him, so she tentatively stood in her own corner of the room, waiting for the lesson to start. She couldn't stop to glance at Bellatrix once in a while, who managed to emanate both laziness and something dangerous at the same time. And there was also something else in her face, Hermione couldn't put her finger on.

It was when their DADA-Teacher entered the room. Cranes was young, probably in his early thirties, and with dark, smooth hair and a short beard pretty good looking. Some of the Slytherin-girls in the room immediately started to giggle, one even made a comment about it when Hermione only could roll her eyes. She had her crush on a DADA-Teacher in her second year and it was more than enough for her lifetime, thank you very much. She had decided by that time to only be impressed by real skill and nothing else.

Professor Cranes stood in front of the class, casually leaning against the table behind him, running his hand through his hair. He looked around the class and smirked.

„So guys, you should still know from the first evening, my name is Professor Johnathan Dolus Cranes and I'll be your DADA-Teacher from now on. I really don't like long introductions, and I first have to see where you are standing with your skill-level and technique…so today I would like to do a training lesson, I want to take a look at your duelling-skills."

Immediately, most of the class started to whisper. This didn't seem to happen often.

„Go on, partner up with as much people as you can. As soon as the partner is disarmed, gives up or in another way unable to fight, you switch to the next one. Only 1 on 1 fights and have a safe distance to your neighbors. No severe hexes, I don't want any of you in the hospital wing so soon in the term. No further explanation needed. _Go_!"

Hermione really didn't know what to make of this tuition-method. It seemed safe enough, though. Cranes had charmed the walls with protection-charms so they couldn't do too much damage to the their surroundings. Still, Hermione couldn't shake the feeling there had been better ways to start the term. But here, most of the students were excited for the duel. It was probably a clever way to make the students like you. She had to admit, she was equally curious.

The Now-Ravenclaws first fight was, to her utmost annoyance, against Vincent. He gave her a smug grin. „Well, Gabor, don't expect me to go easy on you only because you are new and kind of cute."

Hermione arched an eyebrow, replying nothing to this statement. Both bowed, equally to the other pairings, and Professor Cranes gave the starting-signal for the first round so everybody started slinging their spells. Vincent's dueling-skills were present, but, in comparison to Hermiones experience, hardly mentionable. Dee seemed to be right that most students at this time didn't see the reason of learning battle skills. After only a minute she had deflected every of his spells successfully and, with a well-aimed stupefy, sent him flying across the floor, landing on his back.

„Oh, but I thought you wouldn't let me win? How _nice_ of you, anyway." Hermione said in dry wit. She heard a small snicker from behind her. When she turned around, she saw Bellatrix, leaning against a table, watching her. The girl from Slytherin she had been fighting against laid on the ground, holding her head and cursing quietly.

After a few more minutes, the rest of the fights were decided and they could regroup. This went on for about half an hour and Hermione had to admit she fought rather well as she hadn't lost one fight. She carefully tried not to go near Bellatrix, which apparently worked. But all to often she found herself watching the dark witch, being impressed with her duelling skills. There were hardly any fights that went on for longer than a few seconds. She realised that often Bellatrix gaze laid on her, watching her every move. Hermione almost felt that Bellatrix attention never was completely on her opponent, but always shifted to the brunette. Strange thing, it was the same for her. After a few more fights, the class began to slow down, most of the people had fought everyone in the class and started chatting again, talking about the fights.

Cranes looked around. „Okay, I guess that was all of the fights now. Thank you, I guess I have a pretty good image of your skills, there we can start the next-„

„Excuse me, Professor Cranes, but I still have one duel left. And I would pretty much like to take that."

The class went silent as Bellatrix spoke. Hermione slowly turned around and her gaze met the one of Bellatrix, who stood a few meters away, focusing her completely. She started to grin.

One Slytherin whistled in a pretty childlike manner.

Shit.

„So..let's see." Cranes said. „The only ones that didn't fought against each other - and, oh blimey, also didn't got beaten by anyone else, Miss Black and Miss Gabor. Ladies, please, do us the favor! Everyone else, watch. This will be interesting. Make sure to look closely, guys."

At that point, Hermione realised that Bellatrix also had avoided her to this point. But not because she didn't want to duel, but rather to wait for it as the best part. She wanted to learn about Hermione before she could strike. Like a predator around its prey.

Hermione and Bellatrix stood a few meters away from each other, Hermione with an expression of grim concentration, Bellatrix still with her devilish grin. She looked way too excited, probably to show Hermione who was the boss. Well, Hermione on her side wasn't one to give in without a fight.

Both bowed to each other, but only a few inches, never loosing eye contact.

„3,2,1..Go!" By the moment Cranes had spoken the words, the first spells flew. At first, Hermione was pretty good to match Bellatrix, even gaining space in the duel. When, suddenly, Bellatrix changed tactics. Her speed in spell-chaining got a lot faster – Hermione was almost sure a few mute-spells were with them – what put er, after a short time, on defensive mode. Sweat pearling from her temple, she tried to think how to get out of this situation, having more and more trouble to protect herself against the constant flow of quick spells. And then, with a final flick from her wand, Bellatrix found an opening in Hermione's defenses.

As if it was the most natural thing in the world, transfigured the tip of her wand into a whip, looped it around Hermione's legs, who fell on her back and losing her wand on top of that. Bellatrix even dragged her a few feet in her direction, giving her a victorious smirk. _Never challenge me on my playground_. The message was pretty clear.

Hermione had tears in her eyes from anger, but, strangely, nobody really laughed at Hermione's failure. It sure had looked ridiculous to be pulled across the floor. It was probably punishment enough to actively get challenged by Bellatrix, only one Slytherin girl was slightly giggling.

For the rest of the lesson, as well as when she stormed out of the class, Hermione wasn't able to look even in the general direction of Bellatrix. How on earth was this girl so talented? She probably never stood a chance against Bellatrix, as she just had toyed with her in the beginning, wanting to check her abilities out. Shit shit shit! That walking terror had totally messed with her. If she could overthrow Hermione that easily even in her younger years, how should they ever have a chance against her in the future, not to mention Voldemort? With those worrying thoughts on her mind, she made her way to the Arithmancy Class. The classroom was a bit further away from the one they had DADA in, and Hermione used that time to calm down and regain her composure. Arithmancy had always been her favorite subject and she had looked forward to it all day. As she walked her way, she noticed, after some minutes, that there were steps following her in some distance. As soon as she realised it had been the same persons steps for that time, she curiously turned around her head to see who was following her. Only to see a certain Slytherin strolling a few meters behind her, sporting a mirthful grin when she saw that Hermione had spotted her.

 _Oh god, is she going to hex me again?_

Hermione turned around again and tried not too show her concern. But if she really would have wanted to hex her, there would have been plenty opportunities since they left the class. But the Slytherin common room was not in that direction and Hermione couldn't explain why she would…except for.

 _Oh, no, bloody hell, no!_

The only other reason why Bellatrix Black would follow her in that direction was, that she wasn't actually following her. She was going to her Arithmancy-Class.

Bloody hell!

Hermione sat down in the classroom, in the sternmost place she could find in the small room. Bellatrix, however, sat down two places next to her, not looking in Hermiones direction, but at the ceiling, still having that strange grin on her face that made Hermione blush from anger. _Haughty bitch_.

Professor Vector entered the room, being stern and serious as ever. She didn't take time for a long introduction – really, they were six people from every house in this class, Arithmancy wasn't a well-visited class to begin with – and wrote the first problems to solve at the blackboard.

Now, Hermione started to calm down. This was her element, logical and organised thinking were all she needed here. The problem on the blackboard was quite difficult, but soon she totally engulfed into the calculation. But then:

„I've finished, Professor. The solution is „17 x n-1". Bellatrix said, not even trying to hide the spiteful grin on her face.

 _NOT. POSSIBLE._

„I fear this is the wrong solution, Miss Black. You have to start over again." Bellatrix face froze immediately, letting Hermione chuckle and looking back at her almost finished calculation. Two minutes later, she was ready.

„Professor, is it 16,5 x n-1? The problem is, that you didn't specify if we should view the problem under the influence of the Dschābir ibn Hayyān-Theorem, which has a 4,7% chance to occur within this numeric chart. In that case, it would be non-solvable."

Very good, Miss..Gabor? Yes, you are absolutely right. And I didn't specify, because I have never seen a student considering this effect in the first-place. And the rest of the lesson will be designed to thing of exactly that. Very impressive."

Hermione couldn't prevent to drop her gaze to Bellatrix, who was clenching the desk in front of her, obviously being irritated beyond measure over Hermione's victory. Yes, a victory indeed, she thought as her chest swelled with pride at the Professor's statement. Said brown-haired witch couldn't stop herself to offer Bellatrix a smug half-smile and raised eye-brows before concentrating on the next problem Professor Vector put on the blackboard. For the reminder of the lesson, Hermione excelled while Bellatrix hardly said a word, rather working silently for herself, chewing at her lip.

After the class, Hermione was in an excellent mood, as she went back to the Ravenclaw common room to meet up with Dee and Hailey. She could hardly contain the feeling of glee after the small victory over Bellatrix, but refrained from bragging about it in front of her new friends. On the one hand, she had to admit that it kind of put her on the same level as Bellatrix, on the other hand she really didn't want to fuel the other students in thinking she would make Bellatrix her arch-enemy. She still hoped this was preventable.

The next day, were Hermione only had history of magic, was pretty relaxed, she, Hailey and two others were the only ones attending this class. Professor Binns hadn't really changed his teaching method over the last 30 years, so it seemed. It was relaxed, until the class was finished, said goodbye to Hailey and went to the library afterwards to get a little homework done, and, in hindsight of her tremendous loss at DADA, a book about the theory of duelling. She wouldn't let Bellatrix getting one over her so easily again.

An hour later, she was still in the process of searching literature and had ventured a little deeper into the depths of the library, when she heard a sound next to her. She didn't mind it though, to deep into her research.

But a firm coughing let her freeze in an instant.

Slowly, she turned around to see.

Dark orbs fixated hers, a sneer formed on red lips, as the newcomer leaned casually against a bookshelf, cutting Hermione's only escape route off. The girl raised her eyebrows and looked expectantly at Hermione. _Shit_.

 _Bellatrix Black isn't here to invite me for tea, I guess._

Over Bellatrix shoulder she could see a table with a bunch of books were Hermione assumed she were seated. _Great, she didn't even had to search for me, I just ran into her open arms. Clever to let your guard down like that._

Those thoughts circled around Hermione's mind when the Slytherin raised her voice. „I haven't had the opportunity to introduce myself correctly until now, I think." She said, almost casually, but her gaze never left Hermione's. „My name is Bellatrix Black and –„

„I know who you are."

„I figured as much." Bellatrix said, obviously not impressed by the interruption.

„I said I wanted to introduce myself _correctly_." She came a few steps closer, now nobody who wouldn't stand directly in the line of sight of the two shelves could see them. „Would you do me the same curtesy, pretty-please? She chirped with a fake smile.

„Jean Gabor." She said, despite she knew, Bellatrix had to know her name from the classed they had taken together. „Pleasure."

„ _Gabor_ …not exactly a sacred 28, are you? What a shame."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow, but didn't react otherwise. Of course. Blood Purity. The reference to the 28 old pureblood families, to which the Black's also belonged, should Hermione just show that Bellatrix already knew she was a muggle-born and would let Hermione feel that.

„Can't be helped." Was Hermione's dry reply.

„No." Bellatrix confirmed. „I guess not. But there is a matter I'd like to discuss which can easily be changed. How lucky!"

Hermione felt far from lucky right now.

„I'd appreciate it if you could stop irritating me, Gabor. I don't like being challenged, especially by someone like you."

 _Pretty straight to the point, huh?_

„This is ridiculous. I didn't challenge you to anything." This wasn't completely true, Hermione knew that. She had taunted the witch in Arithmancy, but she definitely didn't start this. Their first encounter had completely been Bellatrix attempt. „If you could excuse me now, I need to go back to my dorm."

With that, she confidently tried to squeeze past Bellatrix to flee the scene. Bellatrix, however, had other ideas. She grabbed Hermione's wrist and pressed her against the Bookshelf behind her. Hermione, now trapped, squirmed a little under the grip, but didn't break eye contact with the other witch.

„Would you please let me go?" She asked politely.

„I don't think so. I would like to chat a little more, Muddy." She stated with a frown, Hermione could even feel Bellatrix' breath against her cheek. She suppressed a shiver. The situation didn't entertain the Slytherin anymore, obviously, sweet talk was over.

Still, Hermione tried not to snort at that last, rather uncreative choice of words, to not enrage Bellatrix further than she possibly was at that moment. She tried to think calmly. Bellatrix had effectively pinned her against the shelf, distant to any other of the admittedly only few students who worked in the library at this hour, Madame Pince on the other side of the library. Hermione wondered if Bellatrix had herself actively hidden so she could corner Hermione as soon as the moment was right. Probably. I really, really shouldn't have let my guard down.

„Okay, so how can I help you?" The brunette asked as calmly as possible, ignoring the former insult.

Bellatrix eyes widened shortly and the hand holding Hermione against the wall clenched tightly at the lack of expected fear in Hermiones voice and face, but quickly returned to her former posture. Holding her firm to prohibit any escape, she slowly moved the index finger of her other hand against Hermione's neck, following her pulse point with a fingernail along throat, stopping between her collarbones and pressing it uncomfortably into Hermiones skin. „How you– _stop being so fucking annoying_." Bellatrix hissed with an irked voice which couldn't suppress something else shining through. „You are here since – how long is it, 4 days now?– but behave like the Queen of this bloody castle already. It's disgusting. Stay in your corner, or you'll regret it, mudblood."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. Maybe it was gut instinct, maybe it was an idiotic kind of Gryffindor-braveness. But she still wasn't impressed in the slightest. Even if this would be the most infamous death eater of all times in the future, now she was merely a school girl, even if an admittedly talented one. Hermione didn't feel like shying back right now. In fact, she started to get angry. _She needed to know her place?_

„Who feels like the Queen of this castle, huh? Only because you couldn't get one over me twice today? You actually have to work for your victory, maybe for the first time in your life, bet it sucks. Because I don't intend to back off only because of some scary name-telling. Depending on threats will only lead you to see me pass by." She shot back with a slightly raised chin. „And you know what? I don't think you really want to hex me right now."

„Oh, I don't? Amuse me, why I would fancy a cuddle with you instead of hexing you into next Tuesday?" Bellatrix hissed.

Hermione didn't knew if she was effectively creating her downfall right now, but she had enough of name-telling. Mudblood this and that. I have enough of this word for a lifetime. Still, she blushed a little and pursed her lips.

„I never said you wanted to cuddle or anything like that. But first, you didn't make one attempt to draw your wand until know, which would be a way more effective way to threaten me. You don't really want to harm me now, because it wouldn't proof anything."

„It wouldn't? Cursing your pretty little face so you will never be able to look in a mirror again sounds pretty nice to me, actually." Bellatrix said, pressing her fingernail deeper into Hermione's skin, causing slight pain with to much pressure. Hermione suppressed a cold shiver again. No, not scary at all, keep telling you that.

„Well, you proofed you could beat me in a duel, doing it twice – without me having drawn my wand, even – wouldn't give you the actual satisfaction of beating me." Hermione challenged the young woman in front of her, still being held against the shelf behind her, but not struggling against it now, holding completely still. Even if it was a gamble, her guts told her the next thing she said would be the truth. „I still outplayed you in Arithmancy, you would gain nothing through hexing me, it would technically be like an admitted defeat, admitting you couldn't beat me in a subject of logic. And you ask how I know you think the same? The Arithmancy books you collected over there should be enough of an indication, It's obvious you're here because you wanted to study Arithmancy. You actually like to be challenged by a formidable opponent. No reason to hide it, Black. Oh, and calling me _mudblood?_ That's original, really."

Bellatrix bristled, but didn't retort something immediately. It looked like she was at a loss for words at once. „This is _not_ over yet!" She finally hissed in anger and let go of Hermione, hurrying away. When she reached the end of the row, she stopped again.

„Just one last thing, Gabor…" She said calmly. „I _am_ the Queen of this castle. You're merely a pawn here. You'll learn that soon enough." A flick of her wand let the books from the table close by fly into her arms, then she left without another word.

As soon as Bellatrix was out of sight, Hermione fell against the wall and let out a stricken breath.

She closed her eyes. Her words had actually sounded a lot more confident than she felt right now, rubbing her stiff shoulders and touching her skin where Bellatrix nail digged in. Bullseye, huh? In fact, the thing with the Arithmancy-books was a sheer luck-shot. She had no clue if this were really Bellatrix' books or if they were about Arithmancy. But after the way the girl reacted she was confident she had come closer to the truth about Bellatrix behaviour in general, that Bellatrix didn't curse her afterwards felt like the evidence she was looking for.

Still, totally worked not to get the attention of Bellatrix Black, very good start, Hermione.

But who was she to talk, really? Whatever she just said to Bellatrix almost worked the same way for her. She never was a really competitive person, as nobody ever tried to challenge her at scholastic matters. This was the first time she had to proof not only to the Professors she was the best, but had to outlevel someone at that. _Challenge accepted_ , Bellatrix… She thought to herself.

* * *

The rest of the day was rather uneventful, only that Dee and Hailey informed her about the existence of the „Welcome-back-to-Hogwarts-weekend-Party" at the Ravenclaw-tower.

„I guess every house has one of those" Dee told her while they worked on their leftover homework. Dee currently worked on something experimental for Charms as she told their friends. As she said so to them, Hailey looked at her incredulously. „Are you _serious_?" Do you remember the last time you tried something like that?"

Dee shifted uncomfortably. „That was almost a year ago…"

„ _You shrunk Professor Flitwick_! I didn't think that was possible! None of the normal counterspells worked. He had to teach like that for almost a month! You were lucky you weren't thrown out!"

„Yeaah…okay, maybe." Dee admitted. „But in the end, It was worth a try. In the end, Flitwick even congratulated me on my discovery!"

Hailey didn't say anything, only looking in Hermione's direction and rolling her eyes. It was then, when Hermione realized that Dee maybe had more to her than the friendly girl she had been encountered till now.

„Aaaanyway" Dee changed the subject back to heir former. „The party is always at the first weekend of the term, and everyone will eat lots of unhealthy food, drink lots of alcohol and generally enjoy themselves. You probably never had one of those, so you have to enjoy this even more."

Hermione nodded. This was, even if she had been at Hogwarts bevor, no lie. She briefly wondered why this tradition had vanished since she went to school. Those kind of parties generally weren't for her, but she guessed she could need some kind of distraction for the moment. She still wasn't one step closer to why she was here and it irked her more and more. You would think, her former self could have been so nice to drop a few more hints. But well. She didn't know where to start so an evening of relaxing couldn't be so bad. She wasn't really good with alcohol so she promised to herself to be extra careful.

They finished their homework around lunchtime. And after a quick snack they decided to spent the rest of day around the school grounds, until the party started. Hailey and Dee wanted to give Hermione a quick tour, which included the lake – _some cool Tentacle-moster lives there_ -, the Quidditch-field – _The Ravenclaw-Team sucks_ , actually –, and the forbidden forest – Never ever go in there unless you aren't that emotionally attached to your body parts.

It was a very pleasant afternoon, Hermione, Hailey and Dee enjoyed the still warm and calm weather, which surely would change soon. At some point, they settled down at a tree near the Quidditch-Field, watching the team that used the rest of the sun for a little early-term training. It was the Hufflepuff-Team, as they could see due to the yellow-black flashed that covered the horizon. Dee told Hermione that Talos was one of the Beaters, but they sat too far away to actually distinguish the students.

When the sunset started to change its colour, they decided to go back to their common room. It had always been the duty of the seventh-years to prepare the room and even if they told Hermione she didn't need to help, she surely wanted to. _Can't hurt to make some good memories while it lasts_. Back in the common room they paired up with the rest of the seventh years to make the room ready. Hailey, Dee and Hermione went into the kitchen where the elves were only too willing to give them tons food and giant jugs of pumpkin juice. Two actually accompanied them to carry some of the stuff. When they came back, the boys had re-arranges the furniture of the room, that the tables stood at the side of the room, already holding a noteworthy amount of Butterbeer. After half an hour they had arranged all of the food and drinks and Hailey had charmed the room so there would be music in the background. Over the evening, Hermione noticed that Hailey had put not only a few muggle-songs in it, letting herself chuckle.

The evening went on really nice. It felt like everyone of House Ravenclaw was attending the party. Everyone was chatting, eating and drinking and Hermione got to know some of her new housemates a little better. Still, she tried her best to be as inconspicuous as possible. What, she had to admit, became more and more difficult as a lot of the students gratulated her for standing up to Bellatrix, which obviously had already made it's round at the school. Perfect, really. At some point, the three girls sat in a corner of the room in three cozy chairs, chatting happily. Dee was telling one of her stories where she tried to experiment with magic which went horribly wrong – Something about her Dad that 'couldn't lose the really intense smell of Onions für 3 Months – when Hailey got something out of her pocket and tipped her wand at it to magically enlarge it. It was a bottle of Ogden's old Firewhiskey.

„Hailey!" Hermione said, a little shocked.

Hailey arched an eyebrow at her. „What's the matter? We really can't put this on the table, there are a lot of children here. But come on, we are of age! Don't tell me you never tried it?"

„Well, uhm…" Truly, Hermione never had drank something stronger than a glass of wine with her parents on christmas. The cocoa with whiskey she got from Dumbledore had actually been the strongest drink she ever had. And there she barely tasted it. „Th-thats not the point. It's forbidden on school grounds, isn't it?" Her slight blush seemed to tell Hailey exactly what she was thinking.

„Oooh, dear, you are such a sticker to the rules. Come on, try it. Nothing bad will happen, I promise. She stood up to get three small glasses from one of the tables and poured them some of the reddish brown liquid. Hermione eyed it with suspicion when Hailey handed her one of the glasses.

„Here's to good old whiskey - may those who use it never abuse it." Hailey said and lifted her glass, before she put it to her lips and swallowed the liquid in one go.

Dee did the same, while Hermione followed reluctantly. After she swallowed the whiskey her throat burned in a way she never experienced before and she couldn't submit a little shudder. But after this, she realized she visibly relaxed. She let Hailey and Dee convince her to drink two more of the somewhat burning but soothing liquid until she decided it was enough. Since it was her first real try with harder alcohol she didn't want to over exaggerate her luck. Hailey and Dee however, who seemed to have a higher alcohol tolerance, topped their glasses a little more often. And as Hermione realised, they weren't the only ones. Lot's of the older students now sat in circles, drinking something clearly not from the Hogwarts kitchen. Most of the younger students had gone to bed by now and it were mostly the sixth- and seventh- years sitting in the common room. One or two couples were actually sitting by themselves, snogging like nobody else watched.

„Hey Ladies, what are you up to?"

Vincent MacLaggen had come to their small group, having a slight slur in his voice, while his smug smile was tugged on his face like it was engraved.

„What do you want, Vincent?" Hailey said, yawning unimpressed. Dee only rolled her eyes when he leaned nearer to them. He turned his head in direction of Hermione, trying to focus her, which had become clearly difficult for him.

„Well.. I was interested in knowing if Miss Gabor would like to accompany me on a little walk, cause my list of things to _do_ tonight is still a little empty…" He winked at her to make the implication even clearer.

Hermione stared at him with mouth agape. Before she could even start to form an answer on that, Hailey took over for her.

„She is most likely disgusted by the whole concept of your being, Vincent. Allow me to shoo you away, so that Jean doesn't have to deal with it. It's her first party in Hogwarts, for Merlin's sake."

Vincent bristled visibly at this reaction to the comment he obviously thought to be clever and smooth. However he could have come to that conclusion.

„That's not how this should work, Ashmore, stop talking to me like that." He spat in her direction.

„Nothing works in your life _at all_ , Vince" Hailey said drily. „So now, if you would be kind enough to go somewhere as far as possible, this evening could return to be pleasant again."

Hermione managed to hold an expressionless face, while Dee bursted out into laughter immediately. Seemingly defeated, Vincent murmured some probably not very nice words to himself and went away.

„Jean, you okay with that?" Dee asked with slight concern. „That was a rather crass line, even for that idiot…"

Hermione had to agree. She hadn't talked to Vincent at all and would never have anticipated something like that. But it seemed the Whiskey had taken it's effect, she didn't feel offended at all. She briefly chuckled. „Ah, it's alright, a fat lot I care about thinks like this, I mean, once I was–„

She immediately stopped and her eyes grew wide. Almost she had told the story how she had a date with Cormac McLaggen in Hogwarts. Vincents son who wasn't even born yet. At Hogwarts, what she supposedly had never visited before. A few simple words. A blown cover forever. A shiver run down her spine. The alcohol made her tongue loose, she had been this close to screw up everything. She needed to get out of here immediately.

She held her head in both her hands and produced a small groan. „Guys, I am sorry. I don't feel particularly well right now…"

„Should we bring you to our room?" Dee asked. „I think it's late enough now anyway."

Hailey looked at her, topping her new Butterbeer with another dose of Whiskey. „Oh actually, I am goo…- _opy in the idea of going to bed right now_ , perfect idea, really!" She hastily added at Dee's arched eyebrows. „Let's go."

Too risky for now, Hermione decided. She didn't feel like laying in bed right now, eventually letting slip something out she doesn't want to. She needed to be alone for the moment until the effects of the alcohol went down a bit.

„Uhm, thanks, I think I will go for a stroll– No, you don't have to come with me, really! I will be back in no time."

„Okay, but be careful no one catches you." The light-blonde said and tried to get a seemingly drunk Hailey out of her chair to go to their dorms. Hermione carefully slipped out of the dorm and went down the stairs of the tower. She briefly argued were to go, as Dee's argument made sense. To be found by a teacher now, drunk by all means, wouldn't be easy to explain. She decided on the owlery, it was pretty isolated. She would probably not even have animal-companions, as most of the owls probably would be out hunting at this time.

So she quickly and, hopefully, quietly, went through the castle and up to the owlery. She was already lost in thought when she arrived at the large, open room on top of the castle. Debating what to do in the future to prevent such incidents. ‚No drinking' was on top of that list.

She had been right. Most of the owls had been out by now, only a few flew around the higher parts of the owlery. But all of this didn't have place in Hermiones mind the moment she entered the room. If her mind hadn't been so occupied before, she maybe would have behaved otherwise. And if her mind hadn't been hazed by the alcohol, she may would have retreated sooner. But at this rate, she was totally stunned at the display in front of her, her feet rooted in the doorway, unable to even move an inch.

In the dimm light of the moon, two people stood in front of one window, closely entangled into each other. One of them, who was pressed at the window-frame, was a Hufflepuff-Girl Hermione didn't know, she only recognised that because of her uniform.

The other one was none other than Bellatrix Black.

With eyes wide as saucers, mouth agape, Hermione stared at the two girls who were heavily making out only a few meters in front of her. The hands of the girl clung to Bellatrix' waist, letting out a slight moan, cheeks blushed brightly, eyes shut. Bellatrix had one hand in the blond curls of the girl, the other elbow leaned against the wall to give them some balance. For a few seconds, Hermione could only stare blankly at the display in front of her. Unfortunately, when she finally broke her trance off, the Hufflepuff-girl opened her eyes and noticed Hermione. She let out a small shriek and peeled herself away from Bellatrix. For one or two seconds she seemed indecisive what to do next, until she decided on running towards Hermione and pushing her away to vanish through the only entrance the owlery had without looking at her again, face fiercely red. Hermione's gaze followed her until she was out of sight, then came back to Bellatrix, who eyed her expressionless.

Hermione slightly blushed. „Uh..uhm, sorry, I–„

At that, Bellatrix started to laugh heavily. It was a loud cackle that echoed uncomfortably and creepily in the high room.

„Ah, Gabor, decided to go out for a little fun, huh? I didn't think spying was one of your hobbies, though."

N-No! It was an accident! I-I, didn't…" Hermione said eloquently.

Slowly, Bellatrix came closer. Thankfully she had stopped laughing, but there was a vicious grin on her face. She stopped and stood in front of Hermione, only inches away, crooking her head to the side.

„An accident, huh? Alright." She said, her raised eyebrows showing clearly she had her doubts about that. Hermione blushed even more at the indication she had watched them on purpose. Somehow, she was just not able to argue more cleverly. Damn, bloody alcohol.

„So, tell me, dear. Did you like what you saw? I think you looked rather intrigued. Something to confess there?"

„Wh…what?"

„Also want a taste? What do you say?"

 _What was the problem with this evening, seriously?_

„Wha-NO! How would you think that! Really, it happened on accident. I- I'm not interested in something like that!" Hermione said, eyes wide.

Bellatrix eyed her for a few seconds, pursing her lips skeptically. Then, her grin re-appeared. „Well, well, when you say so." She said, brushing elegantly past Hermione, raising her pale hand and patting the brunettes cheek a few times.

„You know, it's probably for the better, anyways… _once you go Black, you never go back._ And I wouldn't want you coming lovesick after me for the reminder of the year. Also, I am not really into mud cake. Farewell, darling."

With that, she shot Hermione a wink and went down the stairs, letting the former Gryffindor behind. Hermione had to admit, she had never felt so speechless in her life.

* * *

That's it for today, what do you think? Would love to hear your thoughts about this chapter, since the girls finally talked! Awysss!  
Also, most of that stuff for the classes I've researched and are more or less accurate (like the Agnus Skythicus, I only shifted it's abilities a little). And since Arithmancy was, if I recall correctly, hardly ever featured in the books, but Hermione saying it's her favorite subject, I just had to go with a mix out of math and magic :D The Guy from the theorem did actually exist, though. Well, I hope you enjoyed it! See you next week, guys!

MB: Well, now we have the trouble :D Was to be expected she couldn't dodge that for to long, I guess ;)

Boomerang: Yeah, I know what you mean about that. I can promise there will be a lot of character-development, for both of the girls. But don't want to spoil anything here ;)

Wickedwonderland: Thank you! :D I think Emilie has about half of the quotes I gathered right now...I hope I'm not overdoing it later :D

Darkshadow-lord: I have to admit the thought never crossed my mind to make Bellatrix head-girl :D She's way to moody and unstable for that, in my opinion.  
(But, as you see, the rivalry is only intensifying :D )


	6. Chapter 6

Aaaand it's me again. I hope all of you had a good weak :) I'm kind of happy I found the time to upload today, since most of my weekend is planned out already.  
But it was easier than it should to decide if I should work on an university-project or the next chapter, I guess. Well, long story, short, Chapter 6!  
There will be party, that could be described as 'major story-development', I guess. or at least it gets a little clearer what the story-plot will be about.  
I am hella insecure about this, since I'm obviously not sure what you lovely lots think about it :) But now, I'll let you get your own opinion on it.  
So as always, I hope you'll enjoy :) (funfact: fanfiction crashed so often right now, I hope every bit of editing got saved. Well, whaaatever)

* * *

Chapter 6 – Nocturnes

Show your face  
Don't hide  
Take off the mask now  
Underneath is a deep dark secret

Emilie Autumn, Chambermaid

* * *

An hour later, Hermione laid in her bed. Wide awake and thinking a thousand thoughts and nothing at the same time. Thankfully, Hailey and Dee had been asleep when she had come back to the dorms. Carefully, not to make any sound that could wake the girls, she slipped out of her robes and into her pyjama, then tucked herself under her blanket. By the sight of the empty whiskey-bottle next to Hailey's bed to judge, she probably could have spared the effort of being quiet. Hailey laid in her bed the wrong way around, all limps in a different angle. Dee produced a quiet snore.

Hermione grabbed her forehead with both hands and groaned, silencing charm in place again. How could she let Bellatrix humiliate her that much? Now, in the piece and quiet of her dorm, she could think of a myriad of good answers to retort to Bellatrix. Well, technically, everything would have been better than whatever she had done.

 _What the hell were they doing_? Well, that was obvious, actually, but why? Didn't Bellatrix bully everyone who wasn't a Slytherin? Was she actually _like that_ and will be forced to marry Rodolphus in the future despite her not being into guys?

Shortly, Hermione felt pity. She shook the feeling of quickly, she shouldn't feel sorry for the biggest bitch in school. Probably it was all just a giant mindfuck to her, playing with the feelings of a fellow student. She didn't try to run after that girl when Hermione interrupted… Still, a little uneasiness settled in a corner of her head.

In the end, the situation had left Hermione, after thinking it over and over again, more confused than ever.

She really was not looking forward to the next day, when they would have class together again. She earnestly debated to call in sick for that day, but decided against it. it wouldn't help her in the long run to avoid the dark haired witch, eventually they would meet again.

* * *

Thankfully, the next day in transfiguration, Bellatrix showed no sign of what happened the last night. She seemed to be her normal, bored self, much to Hermione's relief. She seemed more often than not to pointedly _not look_ in Hermione's direction, but this could also be the brunettes imagination. But then, by the state most of the students in her class were in, she probably could also have a theme-shirt on and waving a flagg about what had happened yesterday. Hermione, who thankfully had stopped drinking at her limit, only awoke with a slight headache that vanished after she drank a few jars of pumpkin juice and ate a full plate of toast, and so didn't suffer like most of the other students, who obviously kindly ignored their limits.

It seemed, most of them had to fight horrible hangovers and not only the Ravenclaws. The majority sat there with a tired and unhappy expression on their faces. _Then_ there were the ones who were in so obvious pain, she wondered if they would have been better placed at the hospital wing right now. Hailey sat in her place with a very stoic expression. She hadn't eaten anything at breakfast, only drinking a small cup of coffee. Her face was unusually pale and she hadn't talked all morning.

 _Very uncommon indeed._

Another one who also was suffering obviously was Vincent. He sat in his place, looked smaller than usual and appeared like he could throw up any second. Well, it was self-inflicted, so Hermione had to admit her pity, even with Hailey, was pretty limited.

And _even_ if she wasn't suffering through a hangover, she had her own problems and could hardly concentrate on the class. It was already over a week and she didn't feel any closer to anything she would have to do here, in this time. She knew that she probably couldn't rush this, but this wouldn't prevent her from trying. This morning, when the restlessness finally kicked in, she had created a plan to at least limit the things that may be the cause of her here-being.

There had to be _something_.

* * *

Her _something_ occurred sooner than she would have imagined. When they sat at dinner, when even Hailey started to feel a little better again and even managed to eat a little food, they overheard some second-years who eagerly talked about something they called the _Cataract._

Hermione frowned at them, she had heard that word one or two times in the Great Hall but never ascribed importance to it. But now she started to get curious.

„Guys, do you know something about this ‚Cataract'-thing anybody seems to be talking about?"

Hailey's and Dee's heads snapped in Hermione's direction.

„Dee, we forgot to tell her, that's right!"

„Calm down, it's not that important. Look, the _Cataract_ means…"

„Oh come on!" Hailey whined. „She doesn't know the story, obviously, so could we _please_ give this the appropriate dramatic input? Come, let's gather some snacks and head to the dorm. I actually don't feel like spending a lot of time in here… I can do with the calmness and silence of our dormitory."

„It's calm and quiet until _you_ enter…" Dee muttered only for Hermione to hear who snickered at that.

They made their way back to their dorm, packed with snacks from dinner. While trying to handle what they brought, they encountered Charlene, the knocker. Hermione, to her own shock, noticed how she had started to refer to the Eagle with that name in her mind. She just hoped she wouldn't let it slip by accident in front of him.

„ _If I have it, I don't share it. If I share it, I don't have it._ " He said in his raspy voice.

„A secret." Hermione signs in the direction of the knocker, even if it had looked again at Hailey. But she still was so hungover, Hermione feared she couldn't find the answer. And hell, if Hermione knew about anything right now, It were secrets.

Back in their rooms, they sat down on Hailey's bed making themselves comfortable. Hailey dragged her knees to her body and chewing on an apple she had brought with her. _So far so good, able to function again._

„Sooo… Jay. Are you ready to hear about the _fascinating_ , albeit _terrifying_ story that will _shatter_ your–„

„Oh for _god's sake_ , Hailey!" Dee hissed.

„Yeah yeah, alright. Have you ever heard of the Witch Agnes Waterhouse, Jay?"

Hermione frowned. Indeed, she had.

„Wasn't this one of the most feared witches from the late middle ages? The muggle-literature said she was burned 1566. But nobody knows what happened to her after." Hermione's frown remained. Why was that important?

„Well, she also attended Hogwarts at her time. And was the first and last witch who couldn't be placed in a house by the hat." Hailey made a dramatic pause at that, watching Hermione's reaction. When none came, she continued.

"The legend says she tried to fit in one of the houses and tried out every of them but neither worked out for her. So in the end, in her fifth year, she created a place for herself. The fifth house of Hogwarts that was only ever attended by one person. She called it the _Cataract_. It was unofficially approved but obviously never gained official status. It's location was completely unknown but it was rumored to have a black dog with the face of an ape as a symbol. And it says that, after she was officially burned by the muggles, she returned to Hogwarts, almost two years later, to proclaim her old house official. Needless to say, the teachers told her off. The situation escalated, Waterhouse demanding her house would become official, a fight started. They fought a rough battle, but it says she died that time. But the location of her house had never been found out. And you know _what_?" Hailey said, clearly wanting to create a tantalising atmosphere.

„ _What_?"

„That was _exactly_ 400 years ago! Every century, their is said to be a specific star-constellation that enriches the still working charms on the _Cataract_ which makes it possible to enter the house! But, obviously, nobody knows how." Hailey finished her talk and looked expectantly at the Brunette.

„So?"

Hailey looked slightly stunned at Hermione's lack of excitement. „Well… this is thrilling, isn't it? We are in the cycle! Theoretically, we have the possibility to actually _open_ Agnes Waterhouse old chambers." It can be opened roughly for 2 years every hundred years, it says. After that, the magic will grow weaker again."

Hermione crooked her head, arching an eyebrow. „I highly doubt that."

Now Hailey looked almost offended. „But how do–„

„Look. I doubt this is something proven, I have read most of the things about Waterhouse and never encountered something like that. It sounds like a fairy tale and a pretty bad one. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that could be true. Were did you get that information from?"

„I heard it last year from an older student…" Hailey admitted begrudgingly. „But it's said to be in the old diary of Agnes Waterhouse! It says it's hidden in the castle, so nobody until now was able to find it…"

„Hidden in the castle? How dramatic and _utterly-unfindable_. That's not really proving anything. And I am pretty sure, if there were anything behind that, the teachers within the last 400 years would have taken a look at it, right?" Hermione stood up, going to her bed „Sorry, but that's nothing that catches my interest. And shouldn't for you as well, we are in our final year, we have to concentrate on our exams more than ever."

Hailey looked at her, mouth agape, for at least a minute, while Dee snickered about their exchange.

„You know what Jay?" Hailey grumbled after flicking her wand to let the rest of the snacks vanish and tugging herself under her duvet. „Has anyone ever told you that you are the biggest _know-it-all_ ever?"

„All the time."

* * *

The next day, first in the morning Hermione went to see McGonagall. Her teacher had told her, if there was anything she needed help with, she should ask and so she wouldn't have to ask for a permission to use the restricted section. She felt slightly bad when she excused herself from breakfast and made her way to the office of the transfiguration-teacher. She knew she had played Hailey a little. It was true, she doubted very much that there was anything behind that story, it sounded like one of the typical legends spreading around a school. But still, this was Hogwarts. And she remembered the chamber of secrets pretty well, furthermore, it was a little too much of a coincidence she was sent exactly to this year to not at least take one closer look into the subject. In the end it couldn't hurt to give it a try. it was the first hint she got since she came here. She tried to conclude logically where to search for clues of Agnes Waterhouse's' „lost diary".

The room of requirement was the first thing that came to mind, but she shrugged it off again. If it were hidden in there, she had no option to find it in the near future. Chances stood better if she looked it up for the next students in a hundred years to solve the riddle. The next guess was the library, especially the restricted section. She probably wouldn't be Hermione Granger if she wouldn't try it at least.

So she decided to go to the library this evening, when Dee and Hailey had astronomy.

But first things first, she thought, before carefully knocking at the door of her future headteacher.

„Yes" came from the inside of the room, so Hermione entered.

„Miss Gabor." Professor McGonagall said, using the brunette's fake-name, slightly surprised. "How can I help you?"

„I would like to have a permission to enter the restricted section, please."

A moment, the older witch was lost in thought, then nodded. „Yes, I don't see any reason why not. May I ask what's caught your interest? May I could be of help."

„Do you know anything of the school-legend of Agnes Waterhouse?"

To that, McGonagall snorted. „Yes, I do. And such nonsense it is! I've heard this rumor over and over again for the last years, but there had never been a single sign anywhere about a ridiculous fifth house. Waterhouse was a witch at Hogwarts who sadly had a terrible yet mysterious death, I give you that. But nothing like that." She lowered her voice a little and looked at her over her square glasses. „You don't really thing that's why you are here, right?"

Hermione crooked her head. „No, actually, I don't think that. But, if I got that information right, what I wouldn't doubt, you didn't really _search_ for it, did you? At least not within the last hundred years."

McGonagall looked at her with a frown. „Well..no. I think there have been some tries earlier and the occasional student…"

„That, actually, catches my interest." Hermione smiled. „If nobody checked it recently, I'd like to take a look at it. Even if it's just for entertainment. So, about that permission…"

McGonagall handed her out the permission and dismissed her, still shaking her head slightly when Hermione closed the door. _Whatever._ This reaction reminded Hermione too much of the chamber of secrets years later. It was worth a try, at least.

She finally went to the library and showed Madame Pince her permission. She wasn't pleased and eyed the parchment from McGonagall like a hawk, as if to prove it to be a fake. But the permission was obviously okay, as she relented with an unhappy expression.

So Hermione strolled to the restricted section, luckily no other student was working here right now. From what she could remember, the restricted section looked completely like in her time. Dusty bookcases, which entailed books about the darkest and most vicious magic you could imagine. The dim light brought on by some candles only intensified the uneasy atmosphere.

So she put her stuff to one of the few tables and started her research, now eager to solve the problem at hand. In a library, there was nothing Hermione Granger couldn't handle.

In the next hours though, Hermione couldn't find anything that could be near helpful or that would lead her in the right direction in the slightest. The information about Agnes Waterhouse were very general, so something like that wouldn't be found in the normal parts of the library. So it seemed like she would have to, in the worst case, look through every single book from the restricted section.

Slightly frustrated at the sight of how much work this would become, and probably turn out to be a catch 22 in the end, she decided to stop for the day, her back was aching and she craved a shower and the warmth of her bed. She made her way back out of the library, nodded Madame Pince good night, who seemed quite happy to have her books for herself again, and slowly strolled to the Ravenclaw-tower.

That, until she heard steps coming in her direction. Technically she was legally out of bed at that time, but she didn't want to have to explain herself right now so she quickly hid behind a prominent wallpart. Her gut instinct helped her out as it seemed, because the figure of Bellatrix Black sleeked along in the shadows.

Hermione frowned, this was like a deja vu.

Again, Bellatrix out at night. Again, not in direction of her common room. _Odd. Is she coming every week down here?_

She makes a mental note to check on that next week again. Today, she didn't feel like playing with fire, their previous encounters still fresh in mind.

* * *

The next week was fairly uneventful. Slowly, it seemed the information that Hermione was something like a genius had spread and most of the Ravenclaws started to respect her for that. It was differently from her time in Gryffindor, where she was often made fun of for her academic enthusiasm, in Ravenclaw though, knowledge had always been priority. Some students even engaged her in discussions about statements she had made in class, instead of wanting to copy her homework. Dee, Hailey and some others liked it more to talk to her about different possibilities and theories they had come up with. Hermione missed the Gryffindor-common room and her friends deeply, yes. But she had to admit, this wasn't so bad, either. Still, she tried not to make a spectacle out of her. She was quieter in class and tried not to become to friendly with other students than Dee and Hailey. She was, after all, still in an undercover-mission.

Hermione found herself musing about things like that, when she sat, at the middle of the week, with Dee and Hailey near the Quidditch pitch, watching the training of the Hufflepuff-Team. They had agreed to meet up with Talos afterwards, wo apparently was the Keeper for the Hufflepuffs. She had to admit, they played fairly good, from what she could see. Talos especially, who caught most of the Quaffles thrown in his direction.

„It's a shame the Ravenclaw-team is so useless nowadays…" Hailey sighed, watching as the hunters flew around, tossing the Quaffle between them. „We didn't have the Quidditch Cup since our first year."

„Well…that's hardly our fault. With Slytherin winning 5 years in a row. Well maybe next year we have a chance again. You know, with Black being gone. We won't be here to see that, though…" Dee interjected

„Black plays Quidditch?" Hermione asked, somehow puzzled. She didn't think the pure blood would participate in something such mundane as sports.

„Well yeah, and she's a frickin' genius in it, like everything that woman touches – talk about fairness in life. She had been a chaser since her second year, made to the captain in her fifth year. With her, they're unstoppable."  
„The chaser-trio is called _the Furies_ for a good reason." Dee added." Bellatrix usually is a pain in the ass, but apparently she's on good terms with her teammates. Knows how to give orders and stuff."

Hermione just gulped at that. Her situation with the oldest black-daughter, after their not-so-comfortable previous encounters, could by now probably be described as _complicated_.

Occasionally, she would see Bellatrix out of class, where she only sneered arrogantly at the brunette and her friends, while, apart from that, mostly ignored their sheer existence. That was the comfortable version. When in class though, she seemed to make it her personal conquest to outdo Hermione. But the roles didn't shift that much, since Hermione also gave her best to surpass the Slytherin. Transfiguration seemed a head-to-head-race, while the raven haired witch kicked Hermiones ass- literally- in every DADA-lesson she got the chance to - which was often, considering Cranes absolutely loved her fighting performance.

In arithmancy though, Hermione still excelled and outdid Bellatrix at every problem they had to solve. Somehow, they were like counterparts for theory and practice, left and right, _black and white_. Everything they did went on on a very high level, though, so the teachers encouraged their encounters. They thought of it as a nice and healthy competition.

 _Almost, but not quite._ Hermione saw too much anger in the Slytherins eyes for it to be somewhere near a "healthy competition", but luckily, that time in the library had been the only time she openly threatened Hermione. _Well, until now, at least._

She really couldn't wrap her head around the witch. She was a pest, sure. Arrogant, unfriendly and absolutely not pleasant to be around, but so far from the Death Eater Hermione would meet later, that she simply couldn't see them as the same person. Well, luckily she wouldn't have to think about that too much, she had more urgent problems. And the steady competition almost soothed her mind about the other things at hand, they distracted her sometimes just well enough not to panic, sometimes.

Hermione loved research, but even the most determined researcher would get frustrated at this rate, she wasn't anywere near to find something in the Library. She had the feeling she checked every of the books that could have something to do with the witch. The most desperate attempt on Hermione's side was to search through an encyclopedia regarding everything „water"-related.

She also could not imagine that in the last 400 years, nobody tried to look into the Cataract-mysterium, even just for fun. It didn't seem to be like the _Chamber of secrets_ , you didn't have to be a parseltongue to enter. It just became clearer and clearer to the brown-haired witch that this only was a load of bull.

It had been one week and she started to become highly frustrated. It was almost time to go to the dorm and she started to pack her stuff, when she noticed something. A part of the restricted section that was normally closed, hidden by a plain door. But still, mostly locked. Now it was opened a little and Hermione could see a bunch of paper-boxes standing in lines along the walls. She frowned, she didn't knew there was something like...maybe like an archive in the library?

She went to Madame Pince to ask if her suggestion was correct. To her surprise, Madame Pince looked disgusted at the mentioning of the room. „Well, an archive of _trash_ , nothing more it is! Loose documents we gather since the foundation of Hogwarts, most of it is utter rubbish, but since about 200 years ago the headmaster at that time found the formula for a hair-growth-potion in it, he added to the school rules not to discard those ‚ _documents_ '. Otherwise, we would have got rid of this rubbish ages ago."

„Am I allowed to look through those?"

„Well, actually, students are not. But since Professor McGonagall gave you the explicit permission to use every part of the library, I guess you can. But be careful. Nobody looked through those in the last 30 years, I guess. And why should they? It's all nonsense anyway." With that, she shuffled along.

It was late and Hermione had started yawning about an hour ago anyway, so she decided to call it a day and start looking through the documents tomorrow. She went out of the library, when something started to stir in the back of her mind. Wasn't there something she wanted to do tonight? Just when she started to remember again, she heard it. As accurate as a clock, she recognized the sound by now, so she knew before she saw.

Bellatrix Black was on her way again.

Hermione was twisted. She was curious, she had to admit. Since she was here, every week Bellatrix came at least once at after hours to the exact same place. Did she meet with that Hufflepuff-girl? Somehow, Hermione doubted it. She blushed a litte at what she was considering, since Bellatrix had just recently accused her of spying on her. She twitched in indecision as the steps slowly departed.

 _Tic._

 _Do it._

 _Toc._

 _Don't._

 _Tic. Toc._

 _Bollocks!_

In the end, curiosity almost naturally won and Hermione slowly and carefully started to follow the raven haired witch. She knew, if she would find her right now, Bellatrix would probably kill her for that. Leaving those not very alluring thoughts aside, she tried to be as quiet as possible when she followed the clangorous steps through the school. They walked for a good ten minutes, when Hermione saw Bellatrix' vanish behind a door. She waited for a few minutes if she would come back until she tiptoed closer.

 _Harry would call me a hypocrite, since I called him out so often about his obsession with Malfoy…he_ really _can never know of this..._

It was a room Hermione had never entered since she came to Hogwarts, the quire- and music-room.

Frowning, she tried to press her ear against the door, if she could hear anything.

Nothing.

Then again, Hermione remembered something she had read in Hogwars: A History years ago. Since the 12th. century, the music quire-room had been charmed with a silencing spell, since the time they tried out a - in that time - new instrument called _Clamaturge_. It apparently had been tuned wrongly and had been so loud, the whole floor, with exception of the whole quire, who were generally wearing charmed earplugs, loosing their ability to hear. A rather uncomfortable story, but it explained why Hermione wasn't able to hear anything through the door.

She pondered her options.

She could go away now, last chance.

The curiosity would probably kill her, though.

Open the door a little and just take a peek? No, then surely Bellatrix would do the job of ending her life.

She looked around a little and saw an empty classroom which shared a wall with the music room. Well, it was worth a try. She entered the room, put her stuff on one of the tables and lifted her wand. It was a little tricky, but she managed to de-cast the silencing spell, but only between the two walls, so in the other directions it would still be protected.

Hermione mostly hoped to hear the pacing of feet, talking in the best case. At least she would hear the witch leave later and then she could sneak around the room and search for clues. But this didn't seem necessary now, not at all.

 _God, I can't believe it._ Hermione shuddered and closed her eyes.

Next to her, out of the other room, emerged one of the most beautiful sounds she had ever heard.

Someone was playing the Piano. But she had never listen to something so beautiful. Hermione didn't have enough knowledge of classical music, which it seemed to be, to say for sure, but it sounded like a rather difficult piece. It sounded calmly but almost melancholic as it made it's way through the walls.  
Quickly, she casted another silencing charm, leaving the mutual wall free and only extending it to her room.

 _That someone in that school can play this beautifully…_

But it wasn't just someone, it was Bellatrix Black. Future Death Eater, tormentor, murderess. The most infamous witch of her time, the dark terror to fight horrifyingly at the side of Voldemort. Now, still a schoolgirl, possessing a passion maybe nobody knew about.

„ _Who exactly are you right now_?" Hermione whispered, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes, listening to the beautiful play that seemed to fill her mind, body and soul, shutting out everything else. Every fear, worry and pain she had felt those days. A single tear slipped through her eyelids.

* * *

The next day, Hermione was rather quiet. She ate her breakfast in silence, while Dee and Hailey babbled about their day. That, until Dee nudges her with her shoulder.

„You okay? You seem absent today."

„Yeah, everything is fine, just stayed up to long last night, reading."

It was only a half-lie. She did try to read after she came back to the dormitory, but couldn't concentrate, the events of last night leaving her completely awake. Bellatrix played for about an hour, different pieces, all beautiful. When she finally left, Hermione waited for a few minutes before re-arranging the silencing-spells on the quire- and the classroom. She couldn't prevent to take a look into the now empty room. It was bigger than expected, a quire and an ensemble would have fitted in perfectly. The piano stood in the right corner, a beautiful piece out of black wood. It stood next to the wall Hermione had sat against, she realised, only a few feet separated her from Bellatrix that time.

Again, the dark witch managed to stun her, except this time it had a completely different reason and, thankfully, she didn't know about it. She decided not to tell Dee or Hailey, not to tell anybody, in fact. Not because she didn't trust them both, but she felt it was a private moment for Bellatrix and she felt bad enough herself that she intruded on that.

The music had sounded magnificent, but also had a strange note in it. It sounded a little saddening, melancholic and, if Hermione should guess, lonely. It encouraged her to see the girl not for what she would become but for who she was right now.

Even if Hermione didn't exactly know what that was.

„So, what's up for you today?" Hailey ripped her out of her thoughts again, nibbling at her Sandwich and raising her eyebrows.

„Well, first I have to catch up on homework, then we have history of magic I think and after that I will go to the library I guess." Hermione listed her day to the both of them.

"Well… yes, even for a Ravenclaw, you are hella' studious, I get it." Hailey sighed. „I should learn from you, I guess. Buuut! - and I know it's only in about a month, but it's time to think about the Halloween Party. All the houses come together and have fun. The biggest get-together of the year, you could say."

Again, Hermione questions why they houses in her time do so little together. _Need to research that, strange thing._

After class, she went to the library again. She had started to systematically go through the horrendous amount of boxes with, Hermione had to admit that Madame Pince was right, mostly completely useless garbage. Kitchen-supply-lists, catalogues of confiscated objects from 1929, and so on... Even if Hermione found it interesting for the first hours to look through the scribbled ghosts of the past, after going through hundreds of them it kind of lost it's perks.

The most interesting thing she had found was a small picture book. It was prescribed on the first side with ‚ _final year 1917_ ', a bunch of Hogwarts students from all houses grinning and waving into the camera. Hermione looked through the picture if she would recognize anyone, without much hope, since she didn't know many people that old. But, to her absolute surprise, there was someone roughly half as big as anyone else in the picture that was waving energetically and happened to be a young Professor Flitwick. She chuckled a little about this discovery, but put the picture back after a short consideration. Sadly, this was still library property.

She sighed and wanted to make the next parchment her last, but now something odd happened. As soon as she touched the object, a strong sensation went through her body, as if given an electrical shock. She cursed under her breath as she dropped the wrinkled - and totally sappy- loveletter that caused that feeling on the floor. She quickly casted a protection charm on a pair of thin gloves she found in her bag before touching it again and putting it back to were it was placed, totally unimpressed with the girls attempts to talk about her feelings and who apparently didn't want the wrong person to read it. What was, Hermione had to admit, understandable.

Hermione at least planned to learn out of it and decided to leave the charm on the gloves. Who knew what strange things were waiting for her in that bunch of scribbles and papers. Still, nothing about Waterhouse on this attempt, again.

 _Enough for today._ Hermione sighed inwardly, going back to the Ravenclaw-Tower.

It was neither the day nor the time where Bellatrix would sneak her way to the quire-room, Hermione knew that. But strangely, she felt disappointed about that.

* * *

She couldn't stop herself from stealing glances at the dark witch the next day, at the great hall she was sitting next to her sisters, talking to them. To Hermione it didn't seem stressed, so it looked like they, and especially with Andromeda, still had a fairly good relationship. Somehow, it made Hermione smile and let her feel sad in the same time.

Later in class, their tentative routine was showing again. Bellatrix excelled in DADA, while Cranes praised her to no limits. This time they trained some kind of duelling performance, where Hermione, at least in comparison to Bellatrix, missed the needed reflexes and intuition, nobody could lay a single hex on her. While Hermione did nowhere near as good as Bellatrix, she did at least fairly well, only hit with a few hexes – mostly by Bellatrix, who shot er a wicked grin every time – while most of the others more or less left the class bruised from hitting the floor to much. _Not a generation of fighters, alright._

In arithmancy, they were talking about the crafting of wands that day, it was interesting to most of them, they had to combine the information about their core-item, the length and wood of the wand, do some calculation Professor Vector had written down to gather information about themselves. Actually, to Hermione, it looked a lot like one of those personality-tests from muggle-magazines - _what says your eating-habit about your love-life?_ – but it was a rather fun and relaxed lesson, so she went with it. She took a moment to regard her 10 3/4, vine wood and Dragon-Heartstring-Wand. According to her wand, she is searching for a „greater purpose in her life" _Ha! At least I am searching for that in this timeline._

Also, vine wood seems to be attracted to people with hidden depths. _Yes, this is also especially true right now, I think._

Dreagonheart string. Temperamental and turns more easy to the dark arts. _Well. Sounds more like for Bellatrix, actually. Or should I be concerned?_

She heard the others talk about their revelations, while Bellatrix kept silent. but kind of with a victorious smirk that gave Hermione shivers.

* * *

This night, she stayed longer in the restricted section, thankfully McGonagalls permission included that she could stay as long as she liked in the library. It wasn't until 0:30 that she realized she almost worked herself into a frenzy for the sake of making progress.

Well, maybe not only for that.

Hermione tried to ignore it for the last days, when it came closer, first slowly, then faster than imagined. It was clinging to her, once making her happy, now making her feel utterly miserable.

It was her birthday.

Today, at the 19th of September, was her regular birthday. She didn't knew if it counted, cause in this timeline, she was neither born nor anywhere near that date. And since she left her timeline in June, it was technically still quite some time till her „actual" birthday.

Still, it hurt. Never had she been alone on her birthday, not even before Hogwarts. She may didn't have a lot of friends, but her parents had taken her somewhere fun or exciting every year since she was a little kid. Her most favorite vacation was her twelfth birthday, after she had attended Hogwarts for the first time. They celebrated in the Christmas holidays as her actual birthday was at the beginning of the regular term. She had told them everything about Hogwarts and they had been so proud. They ate in a fancy italian restauran and went iceskating afterwards. Her mother excelled in it, Hermione was fairly good and her father utterly miserable. The girl and her mother almost fell from laughter after hearing her dad curse, but with an amused glint in his eyes.  
Afterwards they went to see the sunset. It was a beautiful day.

Later, she always had a small celebration in the common room with her friends, Harry, Ron, Ginny, Neville - and later, Luna - sat together, gave her more or less thoughtful presents, chatted and laughed with her till deep in the night. She was sure, if she would tell Dee and Hailey, they would love to throw a whole party or something like that, but she couldn't risk to tell them her actual birthday. She sighed, deciding to go to sleep now and somehow making tomorrow not the crappiest birthday she ever had. It still needed some time till she was able to sleep, charming her bed with a silencing spell again. She didn't shed tears this time, but curled up in a ball and feeling like the loneliest person on earth.

* * *

Luckily, Thursday was a relaxing day for Hermione. First, she only had history of magic, where she, for a change of pace, only let the information flow to her, not taking notes as eagerly as any other time. Hailey, for her part, slept through the whole class this time. According to her, when she groggily opened her eyes as the lesson had ended and Professor Binns went through the wall to exit the classroom, due to a heavy drinking contest with Talos.

On the one hand, Hermione argued to scold Hailey for her drinking habits, on the other hand she found her and Talos pretty cute together, so she didn't say anything. She still questioned, though, why Hailey was even taking this class, since she never seemed to pay attention anyway.

This free evening, which started pretty early, she refrained from either working for her exams or researching for Waterhouse, but went for a stroll on the lands, on her own. She walked much further than she usually would with Hailey and Dee, even exiting the school grounds completely, out of a specific reason. Out of the things Hermione had taken from the future, one piece of muggle-technology was her CD-Player. It was pretty new, her parents had bought it for her last Christmas.

Thanks to her enchanted bag, she was able to get quite a lot of Cd's with her. But obviously, she had to be far enough from Hogwarts to be able to use it, with that much magic around, electronic devices would just not work. She smirked when she remembered how often she had to remind Harry and Ron of that fact, for example when Harry explained the use of a Television to Ron, who was just to eager to get one for their common room. Obviously, she took some of her own favorite music, as well as - in hindsight of her long travel where she couldn't see them - some of her parents favorite music, to have something to remember them from, to somehow have a port of them with her. Her father was a huge rock and metal fan, and even if she didn't particularly like it, she took a fair share of ACDC, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin with her.

For today, she decided to go for her mothers taste instead, who loves the opera and classic music in general. She had to admit that her onse-sided encounter with Bellatrix hadn't played a small roll in that decision. After a walk of maybe half an hour, the brunette decided to rest. She went away from the street to sit in a rather cozy place behind a small rock that was just able to cover her when she sat down. Next to it was a small oak where she leaned against it when she put the first cd in her player. There she sat, completely relaxed and happy with her temporary solitude. She stretched against the tree and let out a satisfied sigh. She chose one of her mothers CD's at random and let the music flow through her system.

She had to admit, her mothers taste of music wasn't to bad. She was half into a CD with a mix of classic pieces by Chopin, when she frowned. She first hadn't paid attention to it, because of her cozy half-dozing-off-state in the still warm afternoon-sun and gentle blow of the wind. She grabbed her CP-Player and pressed the „back"-Button. This time she listened more concentrated. And again. And again. It was a little difficult at first, since the piece didn't have a vocal components, but she actually had been pretty sure at the first hearing. She only couldn't believe it.

This was the first song she had listened to a few nights ago, played by Bellatrix Black. She was, again, stunned. Did the witch know? Know that the music she liked to play, she actually _broke the rules_ to play, had been written by a muggle composer? Hermione clicked to more of the pieces and recoginsed even more of them in Bellatrix play from earlier. The caption of the CD told her it were Chopin's Nocturnes. Somehow, _a fitting name._

After a brief consideration, she chuckled. If Bellatrix knew or not, it didn't change the fact she enjoyed something muggle-made, what probably nobody in the wizarding world would expect her to.

Hermione leaned back at the tree again, starting the _Nocturnes_ from the beginning again, closing her eyes.

She smirked. Bellatrix didn't know, but she had made Hermione a rather lovely birthday present.

* * *

So, that was it. What do you think, let me know if you find the time :) I'm hella curious about your opinion on this one!  
Answering the last reviews, it is! (At first, thanks a bunch for your lovely support! :) Since it's actually almost all the time positive, I think I'm not doing TO bad with my first try on fanfiction^^ that's a rather good feeling!

Boomerang: Haah, thank you so much! I re-wrote that part SO often! But in the end I hoped I gathered what I wanted to say :D

MB: Yes, I agree :D I also had pity with her..Not enough not to write it, of course :D

Clemenmore: I would love to discuss this with you, but that would probably spoil a lot...maybe this chapter gave you a hint on where I'm going with it? :)

Lady R. Farris: Thanks for both the compliment and pointing it out! No, it wasn't planned and corrected it as soon as i saw your review. At first I planned to call Hermione by her real name, but thought it would be to obvious for her future, since the name is so unique. But that's why there is the occasional mistake that slips through my own proof-reading^^ my bad, I apologise and hope i got it right this time.

The twenty-fifth doctor: :D I fear you have to read the whole story to know where it ends ;)

Judy: You'll see in this chapter we tend to have the same thoughts on there relationship, I guess :)

MilandaAnza: Won't spoil you there ;) All I can promise is, Eloquentia will be put to good use in the future.

Not much more to say here. Hope you enjoyed and hopefully see you next week again!

\- Hoshino-san out


	7. Chapter 7

So, let's go for the next round! A little later this time, but sometimes university catches up^^

Also, thanks for reviewing, i was glad to see the story-turn was mostly well taken by you lovely lots :)  
Soo, let me know what you think on the next one as well once you've read it. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7

„Dark Town Sally's half insane and thinks she hides it well.  
Smiling kindly while she sleeps inside her homemade Hell.  
And she goes down, down, down.  
Would you bring some Adderalls?  
And she goes down like so many lost souls."

Amoree Lovell, Dark Town sally

* * *

September was over quickly, the wind became stronger and the temperature fell, a few showers of rain came down once in a while and the leaves started to colour. All in all, it was a so average change from summer to autumn, it was almost boring.

One thing though, that made most of the students of the school genuinely excited, was the first Quidditch match of the year which was about to approach – Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin. While most of the students looked forward to the event with barely hidden anticipation, a lot of the Ravenclaws then again had become moody, especially at the day of the match.

„Our team sucks _so_ much." Hailey groaned, leaning back on her chair and almost drinking her whole cup of coffee in one big gulp. She had been complaining about this before, but now, Hermione guessed, the tension had become too strong for any other subject to be important.

„Shouldn't you be cheering on your team regardless?"

„Yes, of course I will. Everyone will, probably a lot of the students from the other houses, too, just because we want to see Slytherin loose for a change. But it's almost impossible. Hufflepuff and Gryffindor really have their problems against Slytherin, while Ravenclaw will probably lose in the first 10 minutes. Our peers are just not made for physical interaction, are they? It's frustrating how incompetent most of them are…"

„Why aren't _you_ playing if you think you can do better?" Hermione asked with a frown. It didn't sound like Hailey to complain about something she could take action in. Now, the blonde shifted a little, obviously uncomfortable.

„Well, actually I never said-„

It was when Dee started to break out into laughter.

„It isn't like she didn't try, alright. She just messed up so badly, they kindly asked her to never go for the qualifications again."

„Oh come on, at least I tried."

„You got stuck on one of the keeper Goals! And you tried to become a _beater_!"

„Oh shut up. _You_ actually _weren't_ that bad in our flying lessons, you could have tried to get in!"

„Yes, but _I_ have as much interest in playing Quidditch as I have in food poisoning. So thanks, but no thanks."

At some point they had to leave the Hall, together with a bunch of other students to get to the Quidditch-pitch on time, although their squabble went on the whole time, as so often. Hermione had learnt to blind it out most of the time by now.

They sat down between some other Ravenclaws, their blue-bronze-scarfs making them easy to recognise. Hermione looked around, albeit some of the Ravenclaws having a little sour expression, the atmosphere was genuinely relaxed when the ranks filled and the commentator started to announce the players. Also Dee and Hailey had finally finished their argument and focussed on the information the commentator had started to give them. He seemed to be a pretty laid back guy from Hufflepuff, maybe in his fifth year. He had his legs crossed and put on the table in front of him, introducing the players one after another. Hermione didn't know most of the players from Ravenclaw, but when the second beater came along, she listened up.

 _„…McLaggen!"_

Vincent was flying a larger round than the rest of his teammates, waving at the students and sporting a smug grin. _Oh god, like father, like son._

After him, the seeker flew in, a girl Hermione didn't know, but received by far the most of the applause from the Ravenclaws, without making a spectacle of herself. She reminded Hermione a little of Harry, trying to make herself as rare as possible and flew high enough not to be seen clearly.

After that, the Slytherin-Team was introduced. Hermione had to admit, they made quite the figure. Especially when the Chasers were announced.

 _„Gordon! Virtanen! Black!"_

They didn't emerge alone, they shot out in the formation of an arrow, with Bellatrix in the front, only recognisable through her curly black mane which she had tamed into a bun for the game.

When the referee gave the signal for the start, the difference in the team-play was soon rather obvious. The seekers actually where on an equal level, it seemed, holding back from the game and minding their own business, waiting for the snitch to appear. The beaters of the Ravenclaw Team, at least, to quote Hailey, tried, but they were pretty much at a loss in sight of the skillful Slytherin beaters.

The most obvious difference though would be the chasers. While the Ravenclaw-Trio had it's problems to even get hold on the Quaffle once in a while, the Slytherin-Team had a, Hermione had to admit, magnificent performance. They flew like a unity, moving around each other and tossing the Quaffle like they had a collective mind, not individual ones. The commentator had problems keeping up with his speech.

„Black! Gordon! Black! Virtanen! Virtanen… _and she made it!_ " He announced their fifth goal in 10 minutes.

There was applause and cheering, when the chasers flew around the Quidditch-pitch, Bellatrix in the front. Even if she was the captain and the leader of the group, whoever had the best chances at getting the hit would do it, it seemed, since she had only scored twice. There seemingly was no need for Bellatrix to show of, the outcome was what mattered. _Impressive._

„Amazing, right?" Hailey said, leaning close to her ear so the brunette could understand what her roommate would say. „All of them have offers from different Quidditch-Teams to go pro, but Virtanen is probably the only one taking up on that. Sadly, she'll go back to Finnland after finishing Hogwarts, so she won't play for the english teams."

The game went on, and, at some point, it was even painful to watch. Ravenclaw really didn't stand a chance. They had played for 20 minutes and it was 100:0 right now. Even if at least the beaters from Ravenclaw seemed to get more ground. Once they even managed to let one of the chasers from Slytherin, Gordon, drop the Quaffle in her hands for a Ravenclaw chaser to catch, he aimed for the Slytherin goal but their keeper had no problem dodging it, throwing it right back at the Slytherin chasers. Even if the beaters seemed to at least be useful, it still wasn't anywhere near enough. The only hope for Ravenclaw was for their seeker to get the snitch before the _Furies_ , what seemed an appropriate name to Hermione right now, could overcome the snitch-bonus.

Just as Hermione had this thought, both the seekers went down with rapid speed. The snitch had been seen. They quickly came closer and it was a head-to-head-run for both of them, they flew to fast for Hermione to actually see their faces. The snitch was only meters away, both removing one hand from their broom to-

 _SMACK._

The girl from Ravenclaw was effectively thrown of her broom by a Bludger, by one of the Slytherin-beaters, about 10 meters above the ground. None of the beaters of Ravenclaw was anywhere nearby, they still tried to get to the Chasers, who by now didn't seem to have a problem with dodging their attempts. It was when it clicked for Hermione and she couldn't suppress a small chuckle. Bellatrix and the other two had effectively tricked the beaters of Ravenclaw. They gave them enough room for improvement so that they wouldn't harass their seeker, but they never were an actual threat. _Amazing._

In the end, the count was 250:0 for Slytherin, a depressing outcome, so to say. The Ravenclaw-seeker was at least conscious, even if her right shoulder looked suspiciously out of place, she smashed her left fist on the ground, frustrated, as the referee rushed to her, bringing her to the hospital wing.

In the end, it was an uneven, but fascinating game, especially to Hermione, who was more interested in the tactical gameplay than the general outcome, even if she truly felt sorry for the Ravenclaws. The whole house Slytherin was cheering while they ran to the team to carry them away on their shoulders.

Hailey sighed. „Well, let's forget about this quickly, can we? Something you two want to do with the rest of the day?"

It was probably one of the last warm and sunny days of the year, so Hermione, Hailey and Dee, among a lot of other students, decided to stroll along the school grounds a little longer. They could still hear the screams from the Slytherins near the Quidditch-pitch, but it slowly faded. Luckily, since Hailey had developed a muscle-twitch around her left eye, whenever the cheering of the Slytherins reached them.

„Why does Ravenclaw even _have_ a Quidditch-Team? You chickens would do better with, I don't know, a debating-society or something."

Their heads snapped around, Dee's twin brother Talos came up to them, hands in his pockets, grinning widely. His sister only snorted, while Hailey didn't need long to shoot back.

„Well, at least we have something to be good at. What is your special talent again? Right, that would be nothing."

„Uuh, low blow, Ashmore. Anyway, how you guys doing? Mind if I join you?"

They didn't mind, so they slowly continued to walk along the big lake. Hermione carefully eyed Talos who was walking in front of her, next to Hailey. She found Talos to be a nice and funny guy and would like to get along with him, if possible. He never paid her much attention, so Hermione sometimes wondered if he didn't like her. On the other side, she couldn't remember doing anything to him to make herself unlikable. And, also, he mostly was all over Hailey, biting and bickering in a cute way, so it wasn't difficult to figure out why he would talk seldomly to her.

Hermione tried not to be offended, she shouldn't try to make lots friends in the first place. But if would be nice if they could at least be acquaintances, she thought.

They walked together for about an hour, Hermione even managed to make some smalltalk with Talos, who seemed to be an interesting and smart, yet still shy guy. Hermione found it an interesting personality gap, how he could be so open with Hailey and had problems to open up to others.

But she herself was, somehow, the same. She also needed a lot of time to open up to someone. Right know, though, even if she would consider Hailey and Dee someone to trust, and she had the strong feeling she could, she actually couldn't. In her situation, it was critical to keep everything she would like to share to herself, ironically. It was incredible sad thought, which came back occasionally, whenever she wanted to tell a story to the others, but had to alter it to not accidentally let the wrong information loose. She likewise had to be careful how to react to stories they would tell her.

When Dee, for example, told them about her boyfriend she had out of Hogwarts - it seemed he had finished school two years ago - not only her, but also Hailey and Talos didn't say much when Dee raved about „Phil", as she called him. They actually were pointedly quiet.

One reason for that, she knew. As Hailey had told Hermione at one point, both Talos and her thought that Phil was a „ _giant wanker_ ", to quote her, always with his head in the clouds and encouraging Dee to do dangerous things.

Another reason that they didn't participate much in a romance-discussion, as Hermione assumed, was the relationship between Talos and Hailey, which both were still to scared to speak openly about. Really, she felt like looking at herself and Ron, in some really strange way.

 _Ron._

 _Harry._

 _Ginny, Luna, Neville._

Nothing about missing her friends had changed. There had been enough nights where she checked her silencing charm on the bed over, when her feelings became to much for her to handle. She cursed, sometimes even screamed, but regardless how devastated she felt, what wouldn't come trough anymore were tears. She assumed she had her fair share of crying for the time being and just felt tired of being sad. It was easier to handle a sore throat from voicing your feelings than crying over them.

Despite she felt at night, it wasn't all bad, she was totally aware of that.

What probably helped, was, that actually, for the first time, Hermione felt something like a real routine in her new life. Even if she had trouble sleeping and comprehending her situation in the night, it wasn't like she was totally unhappy right now. Every morning, Dee and Hailey, who so lovely and without questioning integrated her into their daily life, made her feel home and welcome again, dismissing her dark thoughts from the night before.

The classes in school were interesting, though she would not act as eagerly and in a know-it-all manner as she used to be, taking praise rather modest – which, she had to admit, was difficult, all the more if it resulted from beating Bellatrix.

And yes, in some strange way, even the dark witch was part of her constant challenging of each other in class became one of her top reasons for studying, despite her usual eagerness, bringing herself to outstanding performances.

Another, way more secret and private thing, were Bellatrix' weekly time in the quire room. The brunette had argued strongly with herself the next week, but in the end couldn't stop herself from visiting again. She always made it top priority to never get noticed by Bellatrix. Sometimes, the witch played an hour, sometimes a bit longer, depends on what she was playing, apparently. If a piece was particularly difficult and she needed to practice, she didn't stop until she was happy with the result. Occasionally she even cursed, making Hermione chuckle.

Sometimes, Hermione would only listen. In other situations, she would take out a book and read a little while listening to something that felt like her own private concert. Silently, she referred to it as „ _Her secret in a secret_."

She knew she violently invaded Bellatrix' private time and that the Slytherin would never approve of someone - all the more Hermione of all people - to know. But still, she felt drawn to the play like a moth to the light. It felt like a beacon of light, a sanctuary she could find a short time of peace in, making reality wander and alter. Maybe it was the same for Bellatrix, Hermione wondered.

Hermione's first impression, that Bellatrix favorite pieces were kind of melancholic, didn't change after the second or third visit. Hermione felt like the witch would loudly voice all the feelings Hermione wasn't allowed to share with anyone, letting them out into the night, taking some of them off her own shoulders. She always felt better after listening, her best night sleep generally after it.

Out of this moments, whenever Hermione had to interact with Bellatrix directly, it was far from pleasant.

Cranes _adored_ her. No surprise here, she was a brilliant duellist, she probably could match most of the teachers. Still, it irked Hermione not just a little. Every time he pointed out a great performance of hers, she felt the dark witches gaze on her, often with a quirked eyebrow and a smug grin, an unspoken, but evident challenge. Luckily, Hermione was able to do her payback in the lesson after, being still way better with arithmancy than Bellatrix, who, in return, seemed to be annoyed to no end by it. It felt a little like a game none of the both wanted to let the other gain even the slightest bit of ground.

More than once she had encountered Bellatrix in the library, deep in thoughts about the literature she was considering. And more than once, their was a book about arithmancy within it.

It felt completely strange to her, that Bellatrix was part of her day to day life, challenging her to become better and, so much Hermione gathered, in return also felt challenged by the Now-Ravenclaw. Hermione even respected Bellatrix for her astonishing talent and knowledge. Also, sometimes, Bellatrix had a look in her eyes, when Hermione solved a particularly difficult problem in arithmancy or gathered a quick solution in transfiguration, that let Hermione think she may also not just thought of her as a repulsing pile of dirt like her later self, even if the Slytherin would probably never admit it.

It was the most surreal thing to her. Considering Bellatrix Black, despite her arrogant and annoying personality, by now sometimes even a positive aspect of her life. And well, the music was something else, not even Hermione understood. Still, it reinforced her opinion on Bellatrix heavily, that, at some point in her life, had passion about something good and beautiful, making herself partly good, as much as she wants to hide it.

Another part of her routine was her work for the Waterhouse-mystery. Even after about two weeks of research, she didn't seem to come any closer to the problem. Even if she occasionally felt as she would waste her time, it still felt good to at least do something related to what she was supposed to do. And it also was kind of a relaxing work, even if she could mostly understand where Madame Pince were coming from, considering those documents. The most exciting thing she found so far besides the picture of Flitwick was a brief mentioning of Lorcan McLaird, the Minister of Magic from 1923 to 1925. It seemed like he would, instead of talking to someone, rather use his wand to give smoke signs as a way of communication.

 _Need to tell that Luna later. She'd like that guy._

But still, this stuff was mostly nonsense. Madame Pince said, that, the librarian before her, had given the whole stuff a real quick go-through, nothing near as organised as Hermione did right now, but still. If there had been anything severe, she would have probably found it, what let Hermione's courage down once more. Still, she mused, she would be finished with those boxes around November, so after that she could search for the next project, if this should fail. She sat down on her usual place in the restricted section of the library and got the next box of papers and notes from a shelf in the other room.

As soon as she got it down, she felt a small tingle in her spine, which let Hermione briefly shake her head. For a moment, she was lost there – what was she doing again? She shook her head again. Right, research. She shook her head a last time and sat down, not forgetting to put on her charmed gloves again. That love letter wasn't something she needed a repeated performance of, thank you very much.

Again, nothing out of the ordinary. Bill for The Three Broomsticks from 1876 - they drank 6 Butterbeer, how very exciting - , janitor-notes, janitor-notes - really, how were they organised -, Notebook of some second year, mostly scribbles of brooms and snitches… what?

While reaching out for the next pile of paper, what appeared to be a small, particularly old notebook of no more than 30 pages, she hesitated. She felt the same tingle as when she touched the box first, even if she was wearing her gloves. She literally felt how something tried to break through her resistance. Frowning, she put her hand back, not daring to touch it. What had happened earlier, again? Right, she was confused for a moment, this thing probably the reason for it. The magic even working through the box it had touched. _Careful now._

She decided to reinforce and strengthen the protection charm on the gloves before trying to touch it again. A little frightened, but mostly excited, she created a plan. She rather trusted her now-carefully charmed gloves, but, for any incident to occur, she wrote a small notice for herself, on what she was doing right now, so she could check on her progress later of something should happen. So, now she was prepared for almost anything.

 _I hope that at least._

She shortly debated to call for McGonagall or Dumbledore, but this would probably lead to a long time of discussing and preparing. No. Whatever it was, it was something that needed utmost protection, that needed to be guarded. And she wanted to know, why. _Now._ Curiosity winning over, her heart was racing like crazy, but despite all that she slowly reached out, touching the small book with her fingertip, she closed her eyes.

The tingle in her spine was almost unbearable, extending to the Indexfinger of her left hand that was touching the book. She could feel the fighting of the magic against her gloves almost like a weak burning. It held on for a few seconds, then it was over. Her gloves had worked, she didn't feel anything besides that, still knew what she was looking for. With hear heart beating in her throat, trembling fingers and non-bearable anticipation she opened the notebook on the first side.

 _Hail leve, whoever found this book,_  
 _Whatever you now think,_  
 _take a peculiar look._

 _You found what others search and desire,_  
 _The key to a secret and a gest,_  
 _But more than one virtue you must require,_  
 _to be one of the glorious, one of the best._

 _It's a path you may go alone,_  
 _may as a pair of two or even mo,_  
 _The place that's searched is for is no throne,_  
 _It for all of worth, but not a fleak or for show._

 _So take your friend, take your enemy,_  
 _mastow take your spouse,_  
 _to find the chamber of mine,_  
 _the witch of witches, Agnes Waterhouse._

 _If you are willing, first look at the prime, go to the place where it begins,_  
 _Feel the ilhayl, misery and pyne Go through time to look at the woodness and sins That were never truly mine._

 _Find the place, go joyluf and loud,_  
 _in a childlike manner,_  
 _so at least blutter or shout „Ostenta temporis preteritum pueritae!"_

Agnes. Agnes Waterhouse _! I found it!_

Hermione flipped the page, but the rest of the book was empty. Hermione read the short poem over and over again, until she had to admit she didn't unterstand all too much. It made sense that the texts of Agnes would be in a medieval kind of english, but as she was no expert, she didn't understand some of the words. And with that she wanted to double-check on the other words. She shortly debated to make an all-nighter to start her research right now. it was just so tempting. But no, too many things were going against it. She already started to get tired and she wanted to be in her best form for this. Also, it would be difficult to explain to Hailey and Dee why she pulled an all nighter with all her homework done ages ago.

And, maybe the most important reason, even if she was only able to admit this reluctantly, Bellatrix probably already was at the quire-room. This had become as much a ritual for Hermione as it has for Bellatrix. Even if Hermione was slightly embarrassed and even a little mortified to admit that one of her biggest pleasures in Hogwarts was related to her later nemesis.

While walking out of the restricted section, she still looked at the book in awe. This was an amazing discovery! _So glad I didn't give up earlier._

It was when Hermione heard footsteps coming in her direction.

„Ms. Gabor, did you find anything?" Madame Pince was hurrying towards her, apparently she had already spotted the book.

 _Shit._

She frowned. „What is this book? I don't recognise it. And I know all books here. Did you find it among the old stuff? Give it to me."

She lunged out for the book, and before Hermione could protest or say anything, she had clawed her hand around the small notebook.

Madame Pince stopped midmotion. She completely froze until she began to shook slightly. Then again, she stopped, Hermione was watching her in horror.

„Uhm, Madame Pince?"

„Yes dear, what is it?"

„Are you okay?"

„Why wouldn't I? I just have to close the library now, so please, hurry up to your dorm." With that, she made a shoo-gesture towards Hermione and strolled away.

Mouth slightly agape, Hermione was rather puzzled. _Amazing_ , she thought. Like that, Agnes had protected her notebook and it still worked perfectly. Maybe, in the last 400 years, a lot of students or even teachers had found the notebook and came close to the riddle of Waterhouse. But nobody had, without a reason, a protection charm on them as Hermione had. It was sheer coincidence it didn't work on Hermione, though. It made Hermione feel enthusiastic. It showed her she maybe was on the right track here. She carefully put the book into her enchanted bag, promising to herself never be careless around it.

Hermione also discovered that the notebook probably didn't contain any evil or dark magic, what soothed her.  
Madame Pince was the proof that this book was not meant to harm but only wanted it's secrets protected. Hermione didn't plan to test it on the librarian, but well, now she knew.

Besides everything else, one thing confused Hermione, though.

Why would she charm her Notebook to be so difficult to find? About what Hailey told her, she wanted her House to be official. If she had planned to keep her House a secret for so long or she never came to the point to actually try to make it official, Hermione didn't know. Maybe Hailey's information were off. Even if Waterhouse should've had high expectations about the students in her house, it didn't make much sense to Hermione to charm it sow throughly.

However, 400 years of a secret were starting to end. It excited Hermione a lot more than she had expected it to do. But she decided to leave it for later, maybe think about it at night when Dee and Hailey were sleeping. Because she didn't really want to miss more of Bellatrix music. So she collected her stuff, threw a last gaze over her shoulder and was off.

* * *

Sooo... what do you think about my english medieval poetry-skills? I hope I got my point across :D  
Oh, one funfact I forgot last time: Agnes Waterhouse is a real character from medieval england. I wouldn't encourage you to look her up, since one or two surprises maybe would be futile in that case (even if I, after the general biography, obviously went on with my something completely different)  
Well, I really hope you enjoyed it :) Till next week, guys! (The next chapter will a) be longer again and b) in Bellatrix POV for a change ;)

SH4DOW44: Yep...but they wouldn't admit it :D

JesseB: I've never been so proud about a pun in my whole life :D

HitsujiNoShinigam: Thanks a bunch for your lovely words! I'd actually love to know where you think I'll take it :) (even more after this chapter :D)

fnawabi: It's a pleasure! :)

MB: There you go! I hope I didn't disappoint :)

L: I see, the Ratties and Cupcakes are strong here :D

Darkshadow-lord: I can see why you would think of the Chamber of Secrets, but I plan to make its completely different, actually :) -no spoiler here, since it was in the 6th and 7th Chapter- technically everyone could enter, if you follow Hailey, you don't need to be a parselmouth or something. But well, we'll see that later, won't we? :)

Bellatrix-Forgive: Wow, you flatter me! :) I hope I didn't disappoint in this chapter? But I'd guess the next two chapter will be even more to your liking ;)

Boomerang: Well, I just happen to like the nocturnes (not a specialist, not in the slightest) and thought it appropriate for the scenario I imagined :) For why Bellatrix plays the piano, I'll do a little more explaining in the future. Hope it still was to your liking :)

So, see ya all!

-Hoshino out


	8. Chapter 8

Hoshino here again, how have you been? Not much talking needed right now, a lot of plot development again I guess, let me know what you think :)  
And, most importantly, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 8 - Faces like mine

„I should not be telling you  
I'm flattered by your interest  
Who am I talking to  
Could be the demon with a mask  
Why should I trust in you?  
I don't feel safe I never did"

Emilie Autumn, Faces like mine

* * *

 _The smell of alcohol apparent in the room, the the sound of glasses clicking glasses against each other next to victorious shouts and screams, an ocean out of green and silver._

The party over their victory in the first Quidditch-match of the year was, even late into the night, still going on strongly. The spirits were high and the drinks free, so there really was no reason it shouldn't.

Watching the whole spectacle, Bellatrix Black sat lazily in one of the chairs near the fire, twirling her fire whiskey around in her glass, legs crossed on the table in front of her.

„ _Black, nicely done, really_!" One of the Slytherin-guys from her year shouted out to her as he passed by, a lot of butterbeer-bottles in his arms. She shortly waved in his general direction, but didn't react in any other way. _Really, it's not that big of a deal_ , she rolled her eyes.

For the first hour, it had been nice and pleasant, as always, beeing cheered on, of course she also enjoyed the awe of half of the school. But still. They had been winning the Quidditch-games since she joined the team and winning the games was hardly any challenge anymore, all the more against Ravenclaw. She took a sip of her drink and searched the room for her teammates. Their were talented players, it was fun to work with them, especially Gordon and Virtanen, who both participated in a heavy drinking game against each other by now, Virtanen clearly on the winning.

Yes, Quidditch was fun. it was fun to fly, to work in a functioning group, to give orders, to feel the adrenaline and be engulfed by the action. But it hadn't been a challenge to Bellatrix since at least her fourth year. She sighed. The victory over Ravenclaw was hardly anything to be proud of.

„Well, again a year with the Quidditch Cup safe!" Another girl shouted, raising her Bottle of Beer, followed by the rest of the houses approving whistles and humming.

That, Bellatrix had no doubt of.

„Including the House Cup of course." Another boy interjected.

Also, no contradiction from her.

„Pureblood-society _rules, as always_." Gordon gleefully added, earning a lot of yowling and cheering from her fellow housemates. Bellatrix remained silent, watching the reaction of the others. Most of the students were eagerly nodding and approving Gordon, some to pumped op on their drinking. She searched for her sisters and first saw Narcissa, eyes already red from sleepiness, but eagerly listening to something Lucius said to his group of friends. Then her eyes wandered, searching for Andromeda. She was, as herself, not participating in the antics of the others, who, by now, were chanting the term „pure-blood" as a kind of battle cry. Andy, instead, eyed Bellatrix with a thoughtful look from the opposite of the room, emotions storming through her eyes.

Bellatrix stopped the twirling of her Whiskey, gulped it down in one go and stood up. „ _Where're you going, Black_?" somebody called out to her, but wordless and without as much as another glance she opened the door and exited the common room to the outside.

It was long after curfew, but Bellatrix knew no prefect from other houses would dare to come down to the dungeons now, the Slytherins way to hyped up to follow any order right now. She hurried along, passed by two people snogging and were way to occupied to even notice her. She stealthily went on until she reached the entrance door and got out of the castle. She let out a small sigh of relief and strolled over to the lake, settling herself close to the water and throwing rocks into the dark surface.

„You will wake the Kraken, you know?" A voice behind her teased.

A body was moving and sat down next to her, she didn't have to look to see who it was.

„Hey, Andy. What's up? The party isn't over yet, you should go back." Bellatrix moved her head to look at her little sister who gave her a strange look.

„I should ask you that. Why did _you_ go? That's your celebration there, you know? But you didn't even care for the attention. Not your style."

Bellatrix looked at her angrily. „Celebrating _what_ exactly? Those Chickens hardly were any challenge for us. It feels like cheering over finishing my dessert. Hardly any difference in the effort."

Andy chuckled. „Ah, there is the arrogant Bella I know." When she looked at Bellatrix' furrowed eyebrows, her expression became more serious again. „But that wasn't it really, was it? There was something else on your mind."

Andy also started to hug her knees, her expression became sad as her gaze went over the lake and forest of the grounds.

„It doesn't become easier to listen to them ,does it?"

Bellatrix shifted uncomfortably. „What do you mean?"

„You know what I mean. Their talk about pureblood-elitism. It's nauseating."

Bellatrix suddenly felt cold. „Don't be ridiculous, Andy. It was a bit loud, I give you that, but in the end, they're right. We _are_ superior, meant to be something special." She said, in a biting tone.

„So you still try lying to yourself, yeah?"

Bellatrix looked incredulously at her „I am _not_. It's the only truth and you better start accepting it, Andy! Half- and Mudbloods will _always_ be inferior to us."

She became scared, her voice a little shrill. Andy never had talked to her about this issue before. Why now, out of all times? It was a dangerous subject, one they should never touch if possible.

Andy smiled sadly at her. „I know Bella, okay? I have known you all my life and I have seen how you struggle with the things our parents are filling us up with. There're too many things that don't add up in the end, are there? You realised that as much as I did. I don't think Narcissa or our parents have ever noticed something, though. They can be really thick if it comes to that. But who am I telling that?"

Her gaze held Bellatrix', while she slowly reached out to touch her hand. „I just wanted you to know this. You are not alone in it."

For a few seconds, they just looked at each other, Bellatrix with wide eyes while biting her bottom lip, Andy with sad eyes but also anticipation as Bellatrix gathered at how the younger witch was squeezing her hand. Now she remembered, all too often, when she had become quiet or was deep in thought, she had felt a gaze on her. It was always her middle sister who would give her a thoughtful, but also curious look at those times. What did she think about in those moments, Bellatrix wondered.

„Again, don't be ridiculous Andy. You shouldn't think about it."

Andy sighed, a defeated look on her shoulders, and stood up. „Good night, Bella."

„Good night, Andy."

She heard her sister step away, but after a few meters, the sound of the footsteps stopped.  
„You know…" Andy started, face turned away from Bella. „I hope, one day you'll be able to be honest to yourself. And if that time comes around, if you need someone to talk to, you know were to find me." And without another word, she went back to the castle.

Bellatrix looked at the lake again, but shortly after she was sure Andromeda was gone, she pulled her hands through her hair, ruffling it with a desperate groan.

Why the fuck did Andy have to talk about that? She knew it was something nobody should ever question. It was _dangerous, outrageous_!

Except that Andy was right.

When Bellatrix was little, she had no problem believing what her parents were telling her. She practically soaked it up, that they were _special_ , aristocrats, superior to those creatures called muggles and their magical children, mudbloods. It just sounded so natural to her. Often she dreamed she was a princess, reigning over the wizarding world when she would be grown up, protecting the pure bloods from the muggleborns.

The first time she doubted what she heard was when she came to Hogwarts. She was quickly sorted into Slytherin and therefore in the house her parents expected her to be. She thought her life would go on as before, sharing her time as a student with other purebloods, coming closer to her imagined future and reigning over the inferior mud- and even halfbloods. Except that it wasn't like that. Bellatrix realised within the first few weeks that there was something she couldn't wrap her head around. In the school were students who were purebloods, halfbloods and even a lot of muggle-borns.

But it wasn't the case that the children with magical parents were doing particularly better than the others. It let her frown. Mostly, the muggle-borns were even more hardworking than the pure- and halfbloods. They had a feeling they needed to catch up on a complete new world and mostly gave it their all. The children who already knew a lot about magic often were a little less diligent with their work, thinking they had a huge advantage to the others. They quickly learnt it wasn't like that. It made sense to Bella that the mudblood-children wanted to be part of their world desperately, as her parents had told her and her sisters that the muggles lived like animals in caves.

That was until one day in her first year around Christmas, when she sat in the library to catch up on some homework. She was mostly hidden between the bookshelves so the two Ravenclaw-students, who were first years like her, didn't see her. They started talking to each other and Bellatrix was first annoyed that they disturbed her in her studies when she gathered what this was about. One of them was a pure- one a mudblood. First, Bellatrix grimaced at the Idea that they would be friends, a pureblood shouldn't lower herself to talk to filth. But then, her interest was picked, the pureblood asked the other one about the life in the muggle world. At first Bellatrix couldn't imagine it to be interesting and went back to studying. After a few minutes, it was absolutely not possible for her to concentrate on anything but their discussion.

The mudblood told incredible thinks about the muggle-world!

Most of the things they could do with magic muggles could also do, some even better. They could travel enormous distances in a short time, could overcome water, the cold, the heat, could even fly. They even tried to get to the moon!

They talked about an hour, Bellatrix sucked up every word. She gathered her stuff without working on anything this night and went directly to bed, without the possibility to sleep, though.

It didn't make sense _at all_. Her parents told her muggles lived in caves, but they sounded like a highly developed community. Why did they lie to her? Didn't they know better? They also told her the magic of muggle borns was inferior and then she had already gathered this wasn't true either. She was confused beyond anything. Her deepest believes started to shatter around her, the simple conversation between to students like an avalanche in her mind.

On Christmas-eve, she carefully approached the subject with her parents. It was the first slap she would ever get from her father. Shocked, hand on her face and tears in her eyes she looked at her father, who had a hate burning in her eyes she'd never seen before. He only said. „Don't question things like that, Bellatrix."

It taught Bellatrix to never talk to anyone about this again, least her parents.

One thing gave her a sense of security, though. Since she had started school, she had shown exceptional talent which outmatched every other student in her year so far. She was an excellent flyer and would probably go for the Quidditch-team next year. She was an exceptional witch and it was easy to credit her blood-status for this. Her parents did, at least. And with that, Bellatrix was able to forget - or ignore - her doubts almost perfectly for about 6 years.

Until Jean Gabor happened.

The witch came in her seventh year to Hogwarts and was brilliant, Bellatrix couldn't say any differently, she even outmatched her in some subjects, what literally never happened before.

And on top of that, she was a mudblood.

And, to make it even worse, managed to question her believes for the first time in years. She was the most obvious case of how wrong the idea about inferior blood from muggles was. It almost let Bellatrix puke. She needed to believe in blood-purity. How would she survive the rest of her life if she didn't?

 _How about we just hurt her? So badly she isn't going to challenge us anymore._

„Shut up!" Bellatrix hissed, knocking with her fist against her head.

Yes, she could beat the mudblood easily in a duel and already threatened to do so if she wouldn't back off. It was when Bellatrix first realized that the mudblood had exceptional talent and her old doubts were coming along again. But she actually _stood up_ to Bellatrix and, as the dark witch reluctantly had to admit, took the biscuit with her guess.

She _did_ like the challenge. She didn't have that much fun at school since years. In the past, Quidditch used to give her this kick, but since she and her teammates were the unchallenged heroes of this game, it was still fun, but had become way less exciting to her. She would never say it out loud, but she respected the brunette for her abilities. But why did it have to be a muggle-born? She groaned again.

 _„Just hurt her! Torture her so bad her filthy blood will splash all over the place. Sounds nice, doesn't it?"_

„ _Shut up I said!_ " Bellatrix shrieked, now punching against her head rather strongly. It let her with a sickening pain on the left side of her head, but thankfully the voice was once again quiet. But it was only a matter of time until it would talk again, argue with her, fight her…overpower her.

Sighing again, Bellatrix stood up and threw a last stone into the surface of the lake, watching as her face changed according to the waves the stone caused, creating different, distorted versions of her face.

„My faces… faces like mine. Who would actually _face me?_ "

* * *

The start of the week didn't become any better. Most of the Slytherins were either still in a high because of their recent victory in Quidditch or pretty much wasted because of it. She shortly talked to her highly hungover teammates about the next training session and went to her class after a short breakfast.

She had charms with the Gryffindors now and, as always, it was hardly challenging.  
She begrudgingly had to admit she was looking forward to transfiguration, when she would have class with Gabor again. Lunch was a quiet affair, she sat next to Narcissa who asked her for help in potions. She felt Andy's gaze on her more often now but refrained from looking at her for the moment. She wasn't ready to face her again, she had to re-craft her mask for that.

When she turned to transfiguration fashionably late, McGonagall quirked an eyebrow at her, but couldn't say anything as she literally arrived at the last second. Bellatrix smirked and fell into one of the seats in the corner of the room, behind the Slytherins. She stole a quick glance. Gabor sat at the other side of the room, next to two other girls from Ravenclaw. She knew the names, but in her head she had referred to them as „Strange and Loud" for years. Apparently ‚Loud' had said something funny, as ‚Strange' and Gabor started giggling, only to get scolded by McGonagall who was about to start the lesson.

This time, they had to transfigure a simple rock into a figure. It didn't sound difficult at first, but they had to change the kind of rock as well as the general structure of it. And, as often in their seventh year, creativity and wits gave extra points. They had to work a lot freer than in previous years. But this was probably all part of their preparation for the working environment.

She started to concentrate on her stone, what would she make? A lot of the students in class had already started, transfiguring their rocks in heart-shapes or something like that. That wasn't enough. She would need to outmatch Gabor, one of the few other students who didn't start yet. She was scratching her temple with her wand and biting her lip, obviously in high concentration.

Bellatrix frowned, again thinking what would outmatch the chicken to her left. Then an idea appeared. She carefully started transfiguring the stone. It took a bit of time as she wanted it to be perfect, but after about 30 minutes and a lot of fine-tuning, she was satisfied with the result. Just in time, as Professor McGonagall just called out to them for a first checkup on their work. Most of the people went with an easy transfiguration, simple field-rock to sandstone or something, turning it into stars or a simple-animal-form. McGonagall nodded at most of the work, nothing overly exciting, until she turned to Bellatrix.

„Well, nice work, Miss Black." McGonagall said appreciatively. „And so very fitting." She added with a wry smile.

Bellatrix grinned smugly. She had crafted a Snake, nothing simple, but with an elaborated form, sitting, almost ready to attack. The texture was scaly, the mouth open so sharp teeth could be seen. She had transfigured it into a black, shiny stone, which resembled Onyx.

With the smug grin still in place, she searched for Gabor's reaction. The girl had only quirked an eyebrow, but Bellatrix was sure she was at least a little impressed. _Ok, your turn, chicken._  
Professor McGonagall hat turned her attention to the rest of the Class for now. She nodded approvingly at the work of ‚Strange', who had created a statue resembling a water fountain out of a blue-ish, wet-shimmering rock, where Bella also had to admit it didn't look too bad. Nothing near her work, but regardless.

When McGonagall turned to ‚Loud', she frowned.

„Ashmore, what is that?"

„I am not finished, Professor."

„It looks like you hardly started. What are you doing?"

„I kind of changed my idea 20 times at first, but now I know what to do, I just need a little more time."

„How long would that be?"

„About 3 weeks, Professor."

McGonagall sighed. „This is not what this class was about, Ashmore. I tell you this since you started studying here, but please start to follow instructions more clearly."

„But it will be absolutely amazing once I'm finished. You may want it as a present?"

McGongagall was looking at her bewildered and even Bellatrix had to raise an eyebrow at Loud's guts. Who, from her look, didn't even wanted to tease the Professor but meant it dead-serious. Next to her, ‚Strange' was shaking her head and Gabor was facepalming.

McGonagall was eying Loud, who now seemed to realise the situation herself, as she had the decency to blush. „Very well, Ashmore. You have a month. Ten times the points you would have gotten for this work. If you insist on behaving like that, so be it." Almost everybody's mouth was agape. 10th the points meant almost half of the credit for the class. It would mean a hell of extra work. It was mostly a punishment for ‚Loud's' behavior. But she only grinned.

„Nice."

With a sign, Professor McGonagall turned to Gabor and immediately lightened up. „Ah, how nice to see another student who is working diligently." Another stern look in ‚Loud's' direction. „Very beautiful, Miss Gabor."

„Thank you, Professor."

Bellatrix saw the figure Gabor had created and begrudgingly had to admit the old hag was right. She had created a human statuette crafted out of white marble, it looked like a very athletic male figure who sat on a stone and was seemingly sleeping, his arms over his head and his legs spread, all in different angles. Even if it was just a statuette, it looked absolutely relaxed as if it was sleeping. And he was, to Bellatrix slight wonderment , naked, spare a leaf hiding his most private parts.

„It is the _barberini faun_ , if I recall correctly, Ms. Gabor? Why that one, if I may ask?"

„Well, my parents are huge fans of ancient art, so we went to a lot of museums. I just really liked that one."

Bellatrix had never heard of anything called the _barberini faun_ and gritted her teeth. She knew, again, their work was evenly matched. And it just showed the difference between them perfectly. Black and white, light and dark. One from the muggle-, one from the magical-world, contra-dictional in so many ways. But Bellatrix knew she was at a disadvantage. Gabor, by now, knew a lot about the wizarding world. She, in contrary, was still mostly clueless about everything concerning muggles.

She slightly shook her head. _Not that I want to_. She looked up again and saw that Gabor was watching her work again, and sometimes glanced at her own. _She's comparing_ , Bellatrix thought, and, for a second, a small, satisfied smile played on her lips.

Soon after, the lesson was finished. Their homework would be a description of their work, as well as criticism and Ideas for improvement. Well, except for ‚Loud', who seemingly had to write a small book regarding her extra-work. When they went out of the classroom, Bellatrix could still see McGonagall fume over her behavior, but if Bellatrix were seeing correctly, there was also a little concern edged on her face.

Bellatrix decided to get this over with immediately. She didn't have any class today anymore, so she would go the library, finish her work and end the day with a nice glass of firewhiskey. Quidditch-training was starting on Thursday again, so she thankfully had time. Well, thankfully to herself, as she scheduled the training.

When she sauntered in the direction of the library, she realized she wasn't the only one. ‚Loud', ‚Strange' and Gabor were also headed there, apparently still discussing ‚Loud's' behavior in class.

„..- _told you_ , it's fine! I am pretty happy about how this turned out. I thought she would just suspend me from class or give me detention or something."  
„But why did you do it?" Gabor sighed.

„Do you know that feeling, when it just „strikes" you and you want to do something completely different because..whoa? you know?"

„No." ‚Strange' and Gabor said in union.

„Aw, screw you. Shucks! I am almost late for my floo-call! See you later, guys."

With that, she ran off.

‚Strange' also excused herself from the brunette, she wanted to grab a quick bite to eat and go to bed really early, she would have a long day tomorrow. That left Gabor, who went along in the direction of the library. Bellatrix grinned and quickly strolled forward, carefully not to get noticed by the girl who seemed lost in thoughts. Bellatrix waited until she had settled down in one part of the library, clearly also planning to work on her transfiguration-papers, as she put the small statue in front of her and studying it intensely. The Slytherin sneaked behind her and put her head just above the other's shoulder.

„A very diligent worker, aren't you?"

Gabor flinched a little and turned her head towards her, while leaning back at the same time to create more distance between them.

„Same as you, I assume?"

Bellatrix stood up straight again, looking at her nails. „Oh, I was just nearby. And I thought I could congratulate my fellow student on the clearly _second best_ work in class. How nice of me, isn't it?" She said with a taunting smile. The face of the brunette was indifferent, she only looked back at her statuette.

„I guess your Snake was more creative, you didn't just intimate the Slytherin-emblem or something, I assume you thought of the design yourself. I only copied a piece I once saw and liked. On the other hand my statuette is far more detailed and had a more difficult texture to it, as marble does not only have one straight color. So I would say, we're pretty even in that one." She said neutrally.

Bellatrix frowned. She had hoped to provoke the brunette into a different reaction.

„I don't like you, Gabor. You irritate me." That much was true, at least.

Gabor looked at her, her face unreadable.

„Then I suggest you stop getting close to me like you do now, not once I forced my presence intentionally on you. So, if there isn't anything else, I would like to continue my studies." With that, she boldly turned back to her statue, again observing it intensely, writing small notes on a piece of parchment.

Bellatrix mouth was slightly agape. With an angered growl, she went away and sat down on the other side of the library, as much space between them as possible. It was the last she wanted to admit, but when it was about talking and arguing, the brunette could as easily overpower her as Bellatrix could while dueling. Bitchy chicken. Bellatrix thought, getting her own Snake out of her bag and starting on her own. Bellatrix Black would not be outmatched by that girl.

When she started working, someone near her was a younger student from Gryffindor, constantly humming. It went on for exactly 10 seconds before Bellatrix drew her wand and murmured. _„favete linguis"_ with a flick in the direction of the boy. The boy stopped immediately, trying to speak, it didn't work. he became panicked, took his stuff and ran out of the library. Chuckling to herself, Bellatrix was finally able to concentrate on her work.

She heard the echo of her chuckling in her head.

* * *

The next day Bellatrix was looking forward to. Not because of her subjects, it was potions and divination, which both were hardly challenging. On top of that she neither liked Slughorn nor the old fart Hysteros who was teaching divination, one was weirder than the other.

No, today was her day. The one day that kept her sane, that was her sanctuary.

She went through potions without any major incidents. Her potion, a luminescent fluid you could not drink, but to pour about something, that would glow for hours, was perfect as always. When Slughorn didn't look, she took a little of the potion from the cauldron. She brewed it after all, so she didn't see the problem with taking a little for her purposes.

Divination bored her even more. They practiced with crystal balls again, but with a far more advanced technique than when they previously had to work with. Now it was about a more exact and specific form of reading. To learn about certain times in life or even special dates if you are really skilled. They would see different shadows in the crystal ball and could interpret the signs. Bellatrix frowned. She had tried six dates by now, all in the rather near future - from nine months to three years - and even if there were some signs she could read, like the Awen for fire and energy, there were two things she didn't understand.

„Professor Hysteros? I have a question."

„Yes?" The old man said with his husky voice while he came nearer. „How can I help you, dearest?"

„I can read most of the signs here, but I don't understand that combination of the Triskelion and a Craw. I haven't found anything about this.

„What do you mean by combination, dear?"

„The craw is sitting on the Triskelion."

„I am sorry, but that is impossible. You probably mistook a robin for a craw or something. There is no way the other two could be combined."

„Why?" Bellatrix frowned.

„In the 90 years since I started working with divination I have neither seen nor ever heard of anyone seeing this combination. It is one of the few things in divination that are just _technically_ impossible. If there is a physical contradiction in divination, it would be that. A combination of the mortal world and the future that isn't possible. Look again, dear, you'll find the mistake sooner or later.'"

He went away to help another student. Bellatrix frowned and looked again. Pretty sure it was a craw right now, sitting on the Triskelion. And also the other six times she was looking. Weird.

And then, finally, it was over. She was the first out of the tower and practically running down the stairs.

She longed for the moment she could get out of this room and go to the quire-room once again.  
Normally once a week was fair enough, but she had strongly longed for it since the day of the Quidditch-game.

She felt some of her tension leave her body once it was late enough to go to the quire-room. It was critical that nobody saw her, she really didn't want to explain what she was doing here. Her sisters and the Slytherins she told she went somewhere to think about new Quidditch-tactics every time someone saw her leave. She sighed when she magically opened the locked door of the large room and closed it quickly behind her. She took a deep breath of the dusty smell of the room and sighed again, contently. Finally. She strolled along the room, to the place where the notes were placed. She searched for a while until she found something she wanted to play. Nothing new today, only things she knew, for the fun of it, not really practicing. She had decided on „Art of fugue" from a guy called Bach. It had always been one of her favorites, so it was easy enough to play right now. Just play without thinking, Bella. One of the few occasions she was actually able not to think in the last weeks. So she started, immediately feeling better.

 _Clash_. Something fell in the room next to her, breaking and making a shattering noise.

She froze, forgetting the need of air in her lungs for a moment. There was no way she could hear something out of another room. This room was charmed to keep the own sounds in and other sounds out. The only logical reason was that someone lifted the charm. But why? Also, there was no reason for someone to be there at this hour. Or rather, just one reason. Herself, Bellatrix. All this rushed to her mind within 1 second. She jumped of the piano stool and ran to the door of her room, cold sweat on her forehead. Ripping it off, she hurried to the other room before the person could make a run for it, he or she would surely know they had been heard. When she opened the door, she saw that it was unnecessary.

The person stood right there, in the middle of the room, frozen in the moment. A bottle of water broken, to her feet right where she stood, as if she didn't dare move after making a noise.

5 meters away from her, eyes wide and shocked, stood Jean Gabor.

 _„What are you doing here?!"_

* * *

So...cliffhanger-time B)

I am, like always, hella curios what you think about, all the more since I think this is a pretty critical chapter^^

Oh, fun-fact: "favete linguis" is an actual ancient quote, google it if you wanna know :D

KSR- Thanks, I'm glad to hear it :) Not much with Agnes this time, but just be patient ;)

Darkshadow-lord- hope I didn't disappoint you with the POV ;)

Boomerang: Okay, I won't answer to your guess since I don't wanna spoil anything :D Haha, and I am specifically curios about your thoughts on this chapter.

Mandy: Haha, we'll see that :D Patience, dear!

So! Hoshino out! Till next week!


	9. Chapter 9

Super-late update, I know, I'm sorry. Had a presentation last Friday and work on Saturday, visited some friends on sunday, so there was pretty much no time for anything else. So now, without further notes, on with the Chapter! (Okay, one note maybe. I was pointed out to that „quire room" might not be the best word and Choir room or simply music room should've been a better description. First, I'm not a native, so sorry if that word sounds a little off. But actually, I really struggled with this when I was writing the chapters, since I didn't find Choir/Musicroom fitting for what I had in mind. I know, Quire would probably be more on the Church-Architecture-Side, but since Hogwarts is an old castle I thought it quite fitting for that room, since it wouldn't be a plain room but something larger, fancier…you know? (I also just realized the transformation of documents is sometimes deleting some of the words I've written, sucks. So there sometimes is a sentence that sounds off, I didn't catch that on the last editing, I'm sorry about that!

Well, now actually on with the chapter, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 9 - My Cage

"Something bothers me inside  
Pointless dreams blacken my mind  
I'm weak and I'm blocked here in my cage  
I hate to be controlled, it's making me edgy"

Infected Rain, My Cage

* * *

„What are you doing here?!"

It was strange. Hermione always thought she was, when not under the influence of alcohol at least, pretty quick with thinking when it was about finding solutions and about arguing. Right now though, while standing in the middle of the room, the bottle she wanted to drink from broken to her feet, she stood in complete silence, only looking at the enraged witch in front of her. Feeling just like a deer in front of a headlight.

 _Well, shit._

She had been careless, nothing more, nothing less. She had enjoyed listening to Bellatrix, as always, but was somewhere else with her mind, it eventually would go back to Waterhouse. In general, this time with Bellatrix – somehow – and her music, Hermione used to shut her mind. But this time, after the revelation about Waterhouse, it was not possible for her to only listen. She tried to listen _and_ to think. Which caused her to be careless and let the bottle slip out of her hands. The moment it happened she knew it was over, the music had stopped abruptly. She didn't even make an effort, wasn't able to move. The witch would be faster than her. She couldn't escape.

 _It's over, it's over._ Was the only thought that circled in Hermione's head. She didn't even know what she exactly was referring to herself. She only felt sick right now.

„Tell me!" Bellatrix demands, voice shivering. It was mostly from fury, but Hermione also heard something else in it. Panic? „You were spying on me, weren't you?!"

„No, I wasn't." Hermione whispered, almost inaudibly.

„Well, congratulations, you got me!" Bellatrix spat, grinding her teeth, fury infused in her whole posture, not hearing Hermione's words or not listening to them. She came closer, drawing her wand. „But I will get you tenfold for that, mud-bitch!" She was clenching her hand and Hermione didn't know if she would be hit by a hex or a fist first.

„I wasn't spying on you. But go on. I probably deserve it." Hermione repeated, now louder.

„What? What else could you be doing. _Don't lie to me!_ " Her wand centimeters away from Hermiones throat, her hand suddenly clutched painfully at Hermione's shoulder to prevent her from retreating.

Hermione shivered and gulped. _Lie. Tell her you got lost. Tell her to get lost. No._ Something in her mind clicked and in the spur of the moment she decided on something completely different. Lying wouldn't help her right now, the dark witch would see right through any excuse she could think of in this moment. It was a total leap into the unknown, but there was no other choice. And, in some way, Bellatrix _deserved_ to know the truth.

„I like to listen to your play. By now my visits here are pretty regularly. I think you play amazingly, by the way, even if it doesn't mean much cause I have no clue about playing the piano. Regardless, I probably deserve your anger because I invaded your private space. I am truly sorry about that and I won't fight you right now. You have every right to punch or hex me."

She let out a small breath and closed her eyes, waiting for a curse or a fist to hit her, but nothing happened. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes. Bellatrix stood there, wand still up, also the grip on her shoulder, but with wide-eyed, now looking more shocked than enraged. She looked like she didn't know which thought she wanted to vocalise first.

„Regularly you say? What does that mean?"

„This is the third or fourth time. Kept it to myself since. I charmed this room so I could listen from here."

„Why didn't you tell anybody?"

„Why should I? They would have forbidden you to play."

„ _Exactly_."

„I don't see your point." Hermione said, genuinely confused now. Also about the fact, that she still wasn't jinxed by now but still talking to the other witch.

„We aren't exactly friends, are we? We don't like each other. What do you have to gain from keeping my secret?"

„We aren't enemies yet, either." Hermione said, smiling sadly with a strange faraway expression on her face, Bellatrix gave her a queer look about the odd way she said those last words. „And _I_ never said I didn't like you."

„What?"

„You are far from pleasant to be around, sure. But, as I told you at the time in the library, right now, you are not as vicious as you claim to be." Putting more emphasis on the „right now" as she wanted, so she quickly went on. „You are fierce with your studies, you are intelligent and goal-driven. I think you are quite an interesting person."

For a few seconds, Bellatrix was silent, only looking at the brunette with the strangest of look, as if she had grown a second head.

„You are not scared of me. You don't hate me." Bellatrix said, summarising what Hermione had told her. Her voice sounded disbelieving.

„No, I don't." The brunette confirmed, hoping to sound as neutral as possible. But it was the genuine truth. She just waited for the moment Bellatrix would snap, since she probably didn't feel like Hermione gave her the respect she deserved. But still, she had to say something before. Nothing Bellatrix would mind, probably, but still, she wished to express it.

„If you would stop calling me mudblood and other derogatory names all the time and if you could leap over your shadow for once and try not to act as bitchy as you can, I would probably even _come to like_ you."

 _Now I've done it._ She thought. She stood at Bellatrix' mercy, now waiting for the inevitable strike.  
Bellatrix moved her wand arm and her mouth. Hermione tensed, but then again, neither a hex nor a any other word was spoken by the witch, Hermione only felt the grip on her arm loosen. Bellatrix lowered her wand arm after a few seconds, now avoiding to look Hermione in the eyes.

„I… I have to go." And rushed out of the room and away through the corridor.

After a few seconds, when the sound of Bellatrix' steps vanished, complete silence took over, and Hermione still hadn't moved an inch. Mouth wide agape, eyes like saucers, she looked at the open door.

 _Bellatrix Black didn't hex me. What the hell did just happen?_

After a while she started to slowly clean up the broken bottle, took her bag and went to leave. The last thing she did was to redo the silencing spell she had partially lifted from the quire-room.

Obviously, she wouldn't need it anymore.

* * *

„Jay, are you okay? You look…well, awful."

„Thanks a lot, Hailey."

„Come on, you know what I mean. Didn't get enough sleep, did you?"

„Well, just read too long, nothing important." She lied. It made her sad, but it was becoming more and more easy to lie to her new friends. _Also a routine, wasn't it?_

„Alright, then why are you looking so nervous right now?"

„I am not nervous."

„You hella' sure look like it, sweetie. You hardly concentrated in Herbology" Hailey said, eying her suspiciously.

„Really, it's nothing."

She realised Hermione obviously didn't want to talk about what was buggering her, so she tried another tactic.

„Is anybody mean to you?" she said, now with fake concern in her eyes, obviously wanting to lighten the atmosphere. „Should Hailey come and make the evil person go away?" Sympathetically she patted Hermione's shoulder, a cheeky smile on her lips.

„She has DADA with Bellatrix next, why don't start there, Hailey?" Dee argued with raised eyebrows.

„Well, I think Jay rather is the type of person who likes to fight for herself. I actually wouldn't want to interfere with that. Out of respect." Hailey quickly said. At some point, Hailey had started to call Hermione ‚Jay' instead of Jean. She didn't mind. In fact, she liked it. A nickname didn't gave her that strong feeling of lying all the time. It was a drop in the bucket, but still.

„Thought so. Just leave her alone." Dee said yawning, then grinned at them. So, Ladies. Since _my_ classes for this week are over, I will go do whatever. See you around." And with a wave of her hand, she strolled away.

The other two girls looked after her, then at each other. Hailey raised her eyebrows. „Since my classes are _also_ over for today, I think I will retreat as well. Need to catch up on a little work and make a floo-call. See you later." After a few steps in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower she turned around a last time.

„I'm sorry, I didn't want to annoy you." She said sincerely. „And whatever irks you, I hope it will be over soon. When you need someone to talk, you can always come to Dee or me. Just so you know!"  
Before Hermione could say anything, Hailey was gone. The brunette had to smile. She was thankful to her, but sadly she couldn't take up on that offer. It doesn't matter how much she actually wanted to, she could not talk about a single thing she was actually concerned about. Even if she knew that fact very well, it still hurt. Neither her whole situation nor the encounter with Bellatrix was something she could share with the others. Hailey meant well, but it showed her again how lonely she was in this place.

When she came closer to the DADA-Room, her melancholy was quickly replaced by dreading anxiety. She had no clue how the Slytherin would react to her now, she just hoped she would ignore Hermione's existence again and not making it a living hell starting today.

As soon as the lesson started, she saw that her concerns were unnecessary, since Bellatrix wasn't present in class. Most of the students looked a little relieved, it meant less humiliation through the dark witch for today. Only Hermione, who felt a mix out of worry, relief and confusion, and Professor Cranes, who looked downright disappointed at the loss of his best student, had a different look in their faces.

The class was mostly uneventful, what really was new to them in this class. In Arithmancy Bellatrix was also nowhere to be seen. It let Hermione in deep thoughts for the rest of the day, but she also knew it wouldn't get her anywhere. So she tried to get the witch out of her head and went to the library, since she actually had enough to do after the last development of her research. She couldn't bring herself to work on it the day before, her mind was too occupied for that, but she couldn't start slacking right now of all times, when her goal finally started to become clearer.

From the few times she had read the poem so far, she had already gathered a few things. It was written in a medieval form of english, which was absolutely no surprise, but still a little difficult to translate. So when she carefully put on her enchanted gloves and the thin notebook afterwards, she also got herself a dictionary for the words she was missing or had to construe differently.

After a few quick calculations, she had become 100% sure this was what everyone in the school had been talking about. The diary of Agnes Waterhouse, not a fake or joke from some former students, but the real thing.

The key to get close to the infamous fifth house of Hogwarts, the Cataract.

It was amazing how the tale could survive over such a long time while Agnes obviously tried to protect it. After a short time she was positive she had translated every complicated part well enough. First thing, Agnes actually seemed to be far from wanting to hide the book, if she could trust her written intentions.

But maybe this wasn't the complete truth.

 _– It for all of worth, but not a fleak or for show – to find the chamber of mine –_

She wanted it to be found. But only by those she thinks are worthy. Is that why she charmed it? That not just everyone would try to get in? Or did her intentions change later? Well, I found it on sheer luck in the end.

The next thing was, that she didn't actually found a free ticket to enter the place, she still didn't know the location of it. It sounded more like the first part of a quest she had to fulfill.

 _– But more than one virtue you must require,_  
 _to be one of the glorious, one of the best. –_

That part also sounded like it was a quest with different levels.

– If you are willing, first look at the prime, go to the place where it begins –

She first had to look at something. _So there were more tasks. Great._

 _„Ostenta temporis preteritum pueritae"_

That last part sounded like some form of guidance, a charm she should use in the right place.

 _All right. Now let's look at this more detailed._

She finally had a clue again.

* * *

For the reminder of the week, Hermione mostly tried to figure out more about Waterhouse and her upcoming quest.

Actually, McGonagall had called her in her office at one point to ask about how she was doing and if she had come nearer to what she was supposed to do.

„I am not sure, yet." Hermione said vaguely. „But it might be the case I am on to something." She wasn't sure if she should tell McGonagall about this. It sounded dangerous enough for the teacher to be concerned and it was even possible that she would forbid Hermione to work on it further or to do it on her own.

It was Sunday morning when she walked with Dee and Hailey into the great hall that she saw Bellatrix again. She went in the hall seconds after them, walking past by when they went in the direction of the Ravenclaw Table – by now, Hermione didn't have to remind herself every time not to go to the Gryffindors. The three girls stopped to let the fourth girl pass by. In the second Hermione's and Bellatrix' eyes met, the brunette's heart skipped a beat. And then, the raven haired girl did something very simple, but still completely outer-worldly to Hermione.

She nodded in her direction.

Hermione, completely taken aback, reciprocated with a gesture that at least resembled a nod back. Even if it was a little hesitant.

Bellatrix walked by, nothing in her posture indicated the small exchange that had taken place right now. As soon as she was out of the way, Hermione also started to walk again, but Dee stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

„Jay…say, did Bellatrix - everyone is inferior to me - Black just _greet_ you?"

„Nah, pretty sure that's not it. Maybe some gesture how she's going to kill me…" Hermione said drily, still pretty much confused by this herself. But a little hope had started to build in her. At least, she had become pretty sure Bellatrix would not kill her…for now, at least.

„You greeted back."

Hermione grinned when she took a seat between the other students, took an apple and said. „Well, you never know for sure, right?" Before biting in.

Transfiguration was an interesting affair this time. Their task was to transfigure objects that were already charmed. The added magic made the changing process a lot more difficult. When Hermione had charmed her magical music box to change it's colors in tune with the music, she took a look around, slowly eying the work of the others. And finally, she allowed herself to gaze at Bellatrix, who seemed to have finished her work the same second and was, in return, eying Hermione's work right now.

She didn't search for eyecontact, but still gave Hermione's work an appreciating nod before returning to her own box for some fine-tuning (apparently she had made the box invisible and now tried to charm it in becoming visible again by whistling. _Neat_ ). Hermione's confidence grew at that. Bellatrix was seemingly not seeing her as a threat, not even to her secret. In fact she behaved as friendly as never before. Even if she didn't understood why, all that made Hermione happy somehow. It was a change she really didn't see coming. Very much welcome, but still unexpected.

After classes, she had dinner with her friends and then went, as usual, to the restricted section of the library. Not because she would look further though those boxes or something like that, but she could work in relative silence in there. And really, it also had become something like a habit.

It didn't look like the next day would be any different. Just, instead of going to listen to Bellatrix, Hermione planned on working a little longer in the library before going to sleep a little earlier than before.

Even if she felt a little sad about it, she wouldn't come near the quire room again.

Even if she had made an astonishing progress by finding the diary, after analysing it, the next problem became obvious. Where would she have to look now?

 _„If you are willing, first look at the prime, go to the place where it begins"_ was what Agnes had written, but what did it mean? Hermione strongly assumed she meant Hogwarts, since she was searching for the fifth house there was no denying Hogwarts had to play a leading role in the fulfilling of the quest.

But Hogwarts was not exactly a small place.

When Hermione just was about to geht started with her work, there was suddenly talking outside of the restricted section, the brunette could hear the shrill voice of Madame Pince, talking to another female. Also they constantly seemed to come closer.

„…- _told_ you I got the permission from Slughorn, what do you want from me!?"

„I remember the last time you went in here, so if there happens _anything_ -„

„Oh, shut up, old hag, I'll be out in a second again."

„ _Impudence, 10 points from Slytherin!_ "

„Meh, worth it!"

The bickering stopped and Hermione heard someone entering the restricted section, next to the irritated snorting of Madame Pince, so she quickly put the notebook in her bag again. After listening to the conversation, she had an inking whom she would face in a moment.

Bellatrix emerged from behind some bookshelves, searching for something. When her eyes found Hermione, she slowly strolled forward and casually leaned on a table near Hermione's, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

„Hey Gabor. Had the feeling I would find you here."

It wasn't really a secret Hermione spent most of her free time in the library, so it wasn't that hard of a discovery. Bellatrix remained in that position, now playing with one of her curls like lost in thought.

„Hey, Black. You were searching for me?" Hermione asked warily. Maybe now would come what she had feared. A punishment of some sort, a threat, anything. Her heartbeat increased a little, but she refused to show fear in front of the dark witch.

Shortly, said witch stopped playing with her hair, then she started again. Additionally, she was now chewing at her bottom lip. She looked highly uncomfortable, also like she was searching for her next words. Then, it hit Hermione. The girl in front of her wasn't here to taunt or harass her.

She only looked nervous right now.

„So…see you later?"

Hermione first didn't know what Bellatrix meant, until it finally clicked after a few moments.

 _No way._

 _„Really?"_ She said, disbelieving.

„Well…yeah. Wouldn't want to break that routine you were talking about. You said you liked it, don't make me think you lied." She said almost defensively.

Bellatrix was definitely uncomfortable with that conversation. That she still made the effort let Hermione smile. Next to ‚completely puzzled' about this development. She tried not to show her wonderment.

„Sure, would be a pleasure."

Bellatrix composure relaxed a little. „Well okay… I have divination now, so... see you later."

„See you later." Hermione confirmed before Bellatrix left the restricted section rather quickly.

She wondered if Bellatrix only got the permission from Slughorn to talk to her in private. And, what the hell she did earlier in this part of the library to make Madame Pince so panicked about it.

For the next hours, Hermione couldn't concentrate much on her task with Waterhouse. It became much clearer that most of the things she could gather from the library she really had by now. She needed to act on what she learned as soon as possible, she was on a time schedule, after all. But she hadn't come nearer to the question where to start even a bit. Hogwarts was way to big in the end. And she could not just casually run around and follow the steps in the poem, which suggested shouting the spell written in there. _Would probably lead to a lot of questions._ No, she had overseen something. A tiny detail that would explain everything. But it just didn't hit her. She sighed as she put the notebook in her bag again. It was almost time to go to the quire room. And if she was honest, her nervousness didn't really help with her process, either, her thoughts would always wander a few hours into the future. She gathered her stuff and made her way, like every week, to Bellatrix. But actually, pretty much not like every week.

She had now clue what she should expect now.

The young Bellatrix Black, the eventually most-feared witch of Britain had invited her to listen to some piano play. Whenever Hermione looked at that situation from a more faraway-point-of-view she questioned her own sanity. But still.

This was _not_ Bellatrix Lestrange.

She was no murderess, no torturess, not evil. Not yet.

It would be hypocritical to judge the girl for someone she would become and not for who she was now. All the more with what Hermione had gathered about the Slytherin since the beginning of this school year.

Right now, this was only a school girl.  
Bellatrix Black. Arrogant, yet intelligent.  
Who had asked her to visit in one of her seemingly most private situations. Her, a mudblood.

They clearly weren't the same persons. Hermione didn't know if she would be able to distinguish those shades of the woman always or how deep the difference went in which ways. If she could recognize features of the later death eater in the now Slytherin-Student.

To sum it up, she was _curious beyond belief_.

 _Well, the best way to find out is to get to know her better, I guess. How utterly, utterly strange._

With those thoughts in her head, she went to the room at her usual time. But this time, she didn't hid behind the walls of the next room.

This time, she knocked.

And waited. Nothing.

Hermione frowned and immediately questioned if the dark witch had played her, and any second she would jump out of the darkness to hex her. She looked around. No one there.

Then she remembered something and rolled her eyes at her own attitude. _Silencing charm, Hermione. You should know that better than anyone else. So much for not being prejudiced._

So her only option was to slowly open the door, not wanting to startle the other witch if she was already there.

And there she stood, not at the piano, but at the shelves with the notes, probably searching for some notes she wanted to play today. When she looked up at the small noise Hermione created, she stopped her motions and looked at the Ravenclaw.

„You really came." It was a statement, inked with a little disbelief. Understandable, Hermione almost didn't believe it herself, after all.

She closed the door silently, looking around and shuffling a little unsure what to do now.

„Well, yeah. How could I not, after such a sincere invitation?" She smiled back at Bellatrix, who seemed a little embarrassed at the reminder of their last encounter. _My, so much pride._

„So…" Bellatrix started, again searching for words. She had started to play with one of her curls again, opening and closing her mouth slightly as she progressed how to formulate what she wanted to say. „Well, any wishes? I can't promise I can play anything, but I think my repertoire is not so bad either." Hermione assumed it wasn't what Bellatrix really wanted to say, but didn't want to push the witch either. When she was ready to talk about what she wanted, she would come around. Hermione had quite a few questions herself. _But first, music._

„I don't really have a preference. Just play one of your favorites."

Bellatrix seemed lost in thought for a moment. „Okay, that makes it easy. Also, I don't need the notes for that." She sat down at the piano, looking in Hermione's direction. „Uhm…so, you're content with just listening?"

„Yeah. Sometimes I've read a book, but mostly I was just listening." She said while settling in one of the chairs in the room, a few meters away from Bellatrix, putting her legs up, hugging them with her arms and resting her chin on them, looking expectantly at Bellatrix.

„Well, alright, here we go…" Bellatrix mumbled and started. Hermione closed her eyes at the soothing melody. Her face lightened up a bit as she realized she recognized the melody. It was a part of „the art of the fugue" by Bach and Bellatrix again played it marvelously. Hermione's eyes were closed during Bellatrix' play, only once or twice eying the witch shortly, but she didn't want the witch to feel uncomfortable because of a constant observation. When Hermione looked at her, she looked content, focussing on the music and strangely relaxed. What was left of nervousness in Bellatrix posture probably was because of the brunette, a person that entered her private sanctuary, the first to share her secret despite being a dark horse to Bellatrix. So she early had closed her eyes so the dark witch would feel as comfortable as possible.

Bellatrix finished a part of the piece and let it fade away slowly. After that, Hermione opened her eyes and looked at the dark witch. She was still eying the piano, her posture became nervous again. Hermione wanted to compliment her on the play and thanking her for letting her listen, but she didn't even make it that far.

„Why did you come?" Bellatrix suddenly asked. She had an unsure expression on her face, again playing with her hair and chewing on her bottom lip. It seemed to be the casual symbol for a nervous Bellatrix.

„Well, you asked me to."

„Yeah, still doesn't explain why you came, though. It's not like I behaved very well around you so far."

„I heard you don't behave well around anybody." Hermione tried to joke, but Bellatrix expression let her become serious again.

„Like I told you, even if you behaved like that, it didn't feel like you really meant it. And for your tries of threatening, I have seen worse." Hermione didn't feel the need to tell her that a lot of that actually came from her future self. _Anyway_. „Your offer seemed genuine. And if you wanted to hex me, you could have chosen a myriad of other locations and situations, like when you actually found me last week, for example. Logically, I can only assume you had a non-threatening reason to ask me to come. Even if it's probably more than ‚ _just let me listen'_ , since if you had wanted company earlier, you could probably have asked your sisters or something. So, I am kind of curious as well, because this seemed to be important to you, otherwise you wouldn't have asked me. Additionally, seems like a good occasion to learn something about you, so I really didn't se any reason why I should not have come tonight."

After that, Bellatrix stared at her with wide eyes. It seemed Hermione had come to close for comfort with her suggestions. To make it easier, she compromised it to one sentence.

„I came because I _wanted_ to. Well…why _did_ you ask me to come?"

Bellatrix didn't answer immediately. She stood up from her piano stool and paced around the room before she finally sat down herself closer to Hermione, about one meter away.

„Why, indeed…" She mumbled, playing with a curl of her hair.

Hermione waited patiently, not wanting to interrupt the witch there.

„You know…I always had those kind of… _doubts_." She started tentatively.

„Doubts?" Hermione asked carefully, when Bellatrix didn't elaborate on her own.

„About the way I was raised, the believes I was taught since I was born. The _pureblood-way._ "

Hermione only looked at her, absolutely not wanting to interrupt after this confession. _Amazing._

When Hermione didn't comment what she said, Bellatrix went on.

„It started shortly after I entered Hogwarts. The evidence of muggle-born-students being not as dumb as everybody ever told me was way to big to ignore. I was rather impressed how all my fellow purebloods never seemed to question this. Ironically, most of them were pretty mediocre wizards and witches and having the thought of being naturally superior to muggle-borns gave them a sense of safety, I guess. That was at least how I always explained this to myself. Even if it sounds strange, that I was in fact mostly the best in anything I tried gave me kind of another point of view to that matter. Still, for the longest time, I tried to persuade myself in believing that it came from my blood, that I was the epitome of blood-purity. And every good feature I had, intelligence, fierceness, diligence and so on, came from me being a _pureblood_."

Hermione tilted her head. _Interesting, but why is she telling me this?_

„Then, _you_ had to happen." She said sharply.

Hermione flinched a little at that.

„For years, I was able to tell myself all that crap…and then you came, making _very_ clear that it wasn't necessary to be a pureblood to excel at your studies." She sighed and looked at Hermione for the first time since she started talking. „I thought it over hundreds of times and I don't think I am able to lie to myself anymore."

Hermione stared back, mouth slightly open and somehow in awe. The dark witch had just shared something incredible with her. _She probably didn't come to class the last days because she had some kind of identity crisis._ _Because of me. Wow._ But this didn't explain one particular detail at all.

„Why are you telling me… _trusting_ me with this?" Hermione asked, genuinely curious.

Bellatrix smiled a little, albeit with a sad look in her eyes. „You didn't betray me when I hadn't put any trust in you in the first place, when you didn't tell the teachers about my…hobby. Secondly, you are the only muggle-born I haven't scared off at this point. And…" Now she looked away again. „You are not an uninteresting person yourself, Gabor."

Hermione blushed a little at that, still not really used to compliments. And much less if they came from Bellatrix Black.

„So...how do we go from here?" Hermione finally asked.

„Well, you said you would accept any consequences for eavesdropping on me, right? _No_ , not whatever you think right now, I just wanted to make an offer!" The dark witch said quickly when she saw Hermione's face. „Well, in exchange for letting you listen…I would like to listen to you as well." She looked in Hermione's eyes, sincerity shining through. „Please, tell me about the muggle world."

„Wh-what, really?!"

Most of the purebloods she knew, not even Ron, wanted to know much about the muggle world. He didn't have anything against it, but also wasn't too interested in the end. And hearing this from Bellatrix, the worst of the later pure-blood supremacists…Hermione was shortly considering to give herself a good slap to see if she was dreaming. Or maybe she didn't only go back in time but also into another dimension.

But there was no reason to not believe the Slytherin that she wasn't serious. „You see…trying to convince myself about the worth of muggle-born magic users or learn about their life…and even the muggle's. It can't work while I know near to nothing about their kind of life, about them. I obviously couldn't take muggle-studies, my parents would not have thought it… _appropriate_ for me or my sisters."

Hermione nodded. This was logical. The only evidence of muggle-borns not being inferior to pure-bloods were her own observations, she had never been able to gain more information due to studying. It was a complete world Bellatrix knew existed but she couldn't learn about. Knowing the studious side of Bellatrix, it must have been frustrating _as hell_ for her.

Hermione smiled at her. „It would be my pleasure."

And this time, Bellatrix smiled back. It was the first time Hermione saw her smile genuinely, it was astonishing how different she looked from her usual, haunting, irritating self.

The brunette held out her hand. „Let's start over for this. I'm Jean Gabor, call me Jean. Or Jay."

She felt her stomach contract for a moment. For some reason, it felt way worse to lie to the dark witch about her name than to anyone before, because she had genuinely been open with Hermione and she felt like she was betraying this trust by this second. By trying first-name- or nickname-basis, she hoped to at least ease her conscience a little.

Bellatrix smiled, taking her hand with her own. „Bellatrix Druella Black, so Bellatrix. Or Bella."

When they detached their hands, Hermione began, thinking. „So…where do you want to start?"

The dark witch scratched her head at that. „Well, there is almost nothing that wouldn't be new to me, I guess. So, to start slowly…would you tell me about yourself? Nothing too personal…only so I can understand you a little better…"

Hermione nodded. That seemed fair. So she started telling her about herself, with a little adjustment so her time-cover wouldn't be in trouble. Essentially, it was the same she told Hailey, only with more focus and explanation on the muggle-way of life.

„My parents met at medic-school, both are dentists…"

„What are dentists?" And with the difference that Bellatrix asked a question after almost everyone of Hermione's sentences. Made it kind of difficult to stick to a story. „You see, they're like healers for teeth. Since muggles don't have potions or spells, they need other ways of healing themselves."

„And the only part that dentists cover are the teeth?"

„Well, teeth, jaw, the whole mouth-area..but yeah, it's very specific. Almost every part of the body has it's own kind of healer. Brain, heart, bones, some for diagnose, some for surgery…"

„Surgery?"

„Sometimes, if the disease is severe, the surgeons have to cut up a person to solve a specific problem or something like that. I actually got my tonsils removed when I was smaller, it's not as bad as it sounds. And to muggles, it's standard-procedure."

Bellatrix eyes were wide and she just stared at Hermione.  
„Muggles cut each other open…to actually _heal_ each other. And you learn something like that in school?"

„Only specific schools like Universities, not in the normal schools they have to attend. Or I attended before Hogwarts."

„How are they working, what do you learn there?"

And like this, it went on. Sometimes, Bellatrix looked confused, sometimes amazed and sometimes downright disbelieving. They talked until late in the night…well, mostly Hermione talked and Bellatrix listened, throwing in some questions at a time and giving noises of wonder or worry. But she was a curious student and eager listener. All the time, she had been pretty reluctant in contrast to her general behaviour. Bellatrix probably feared to scare her off right away. But Hermione admired the length the girl did go, to take the risk in trusting her with her deepest secret. She didn't plan on making her regret that decision.

When they had reached the the topic of muggle-transportation („So Muggles are really able to fly? _Wicked_! And higher and faster than any broom? What the…Merlin, _that's unbelievable!_ "), the brunette realized how late it actually was. 3'o clock in the morning. She groaned when she realized how little sleep she would have till their next lessons.

„I think we should stop here for today. Tomorrow won't be any fun, I guess." Bellatrix looked a little disappointed but nodded. As interesting as this was, she had become quite sleepy herself.

They gathered their clothes and closed the room behind them. It was long past curfew, but Hermione knew she would not get big problems if she would be found. And Bellatrix just didn't seem to care. At some point they had to part, Bellatrix heading for the Dungeons, Hermione for the Ravenclaw-Tower.

They stopped walking and looked unsure at each other.

„So… see you tomorrow?"

„Yeah, see you in DADA. Don't think I will go easy on you, Jean." Bellatrix said, a shade of her usual smirk. _Seems like she is thawing up a little._ Step by step.

Hermione grinned. „Wouldn't want it any other way!"

She hoped Dee and Hailey were asleep already so she would not have to explain why she did come back at three in the morning.

* * *

„Where have you been last night? When Hailey and I came back at one o'clock, you still were out."

It was almost the first question Hailey threw at her when they left the dorm. Since Dee didn't have any classes today, she stayed longer to sleep. Hailey wanted to head to the library after breakfast, so she joined Hermione. Still, left her with the need of an explanation.

„I fell asleep in the library and when I woke up it was already late."

„And the Library-Dragon didn't wake you?" She asked, referring to Madame Pince.

„Well…no. She didn't look in the restricted section. I was looking for an advanced transfiguration book."

Hailey frowned, obviously not believing Hermione's admittedly poor excuse, but thankfully let it go.  
Hermione really was too tired to think of a better explanation, she even contemplated to ask Hailey for a share of her Coffee, when she met Bellatrix gaze through the hall. Equally dark shadows under her eyes, she, completely subtle, nodded in Hermione's direction and Hermione nodded back.

The otherwise so vigilant blonde next to Hermione failed to notice that, since someone from the Hufflepuff-table – Hermione had a strange feeling she knew who it was – levitated an egg onto Hailey's head where it splattered with a cracking noise.

„Talos!" Hailey screamed, taking her wand to _scourgify_ her head. But she trembled a little and, while she actually managed to clean her head, she also managed to color her hair in a jolly orange. Half of the great hall was laughing by now, one or two teachers went down to calm the mass of students.

Hermione chuckled and went to her general place on the Ravenclaw Table, where she knew would Hailey's Coffee be.

In DADA, Cranes announced the next misfortunate thing.

„Ladies and Gents, today it's practice-day! Get together in pairs of two and recall what you learned so far. And remember, a stable defense is the basis to a good duel."

Everyone quick gathered their best buddy in the classroom. Hermione looked around and found, she barely had talked to anyone out of this class. It was, one the one hand, that her cover would only benefit from as less contact to others as possible. On the other hand, she really didn't feel the need to get to know the others, Vincent for example, if she was honest. This, in the end, left her with no partner to work with.

„Looks like it's you and me, Gabor, hm?"

She looked to her left where Bellatrix stood, smug grin and repellent posture. Hermione saw one of the Ravenclaw-boys throwing an apologetic look at her. She sighed. Maybe, it was that she was without any other option to a partner because she was the only one Bellatrix couldn't knock out in an instant.

„Seems like it."

Even if Bellatrix and her had some kind of truce or acquaintanceship, that didn't mean they could show that publicly. Hermione was no idiot, she knew Bellatrix had a reputation to hold upright.

So, without as much as another word, Bellatrix sent the first hex in her direction.  
Hermione was quick enough to cast a protego, which was, considering her tired state, pretty weak. She waited for the beam of blue light to go through her defenses, but, to Hermione's biggest surprise, the protego held.

„Very good Ms. Black, Mrs. Gabor. But don't start to harsh, you have plenty of time to practice today. Don't loose your stamina in the first minutes!" Cranes shouted from the other side of the classroom, watching over the duelling class and helping where it was needed.

And, when everybody else finally was too occupied to take anymore notice of them– Hermione had to deflect three or four more strangely weak hexes – Bellatrix found her eyes. And winked.

„Toying with my playmate has always been my favorite thing." She said out loud, cackling a little at that.

It took Hermione a big amount of willpower to not grin back when she understood. It was compromised to a small smile that tug on he corner of her mouth.

Bellatrix, probably as much exhausted as Hermione, waited to get Hermione as her partner, seemingly to knock the muggle-born down, but, instead, only made a little show and threw hexes so weak they could actually relax. For an outsider, with all the magic flowing around them, it probably looked like a death-match.

 _What an actress._

 _But it makes sense._ Hermione thought, when it was her turn to attack and threw equally weak hexes in Bellatrix direction. _Most of her life consists on acting. I wonder who else knows about her true self. Or how much I can find out in the future._

The brunette now had lived about 15 hours with a piece of knowledge a part of her mind still refused to accept. Bellatrix Black. Scrutinizing the believes of pure-bloods by simply applying logic. She probably should doubt Bellatrix words more. Could she tell any of her friends what was happening, they would without doubt tell her that Bellatrix played a mind-game with her, wind her up only to finish her in the most horrendous way she could imagine. But still, they didn't see the look on Bellatrix face. The insecurity that shone through her eyes. The tension in her gestures, when she played with her hair or the nerviness when she chewed on her bottom lip when she asked Hermione up on their deal. This was a glimpse of the real woman, not the act she had been giving so long, it would maybe once become her true nature.

Hermione now knew the girl was extremely intelligent. So it was only natural she would, at some point, question what her parents wanted her to believe, since so much didn't add up with their way of thinking. It let Hermione frown. What did happen to her to thrust those doubts aside to become the dark witch she would be in the future? _Was it Voldemort?_ Highly possible. That, on the other side, meant, now the girl wouldn't know the evil wizard, he had no impact on her life right now. The thought of the manipulation that will be done on the girl, actually had been happening for years, let the brunette cringe. _Maybe, just maybe, it is wrong to see her only as the culprit. Maybe she is just as much a victim in the wars as we are._

Murder, Torture, 14 Years of Azkaban. It was hard to believe that the woman in front of her, merely a schoolgirl now, would have a future of such a horrible extend. _Maybe if I could open her eyes now…_ It was tempting. Hermione knew the impact on the timeline should be as small as possible. But it felt like a crime to let the Slytherin plan her downfall without realizing it. She thought that she maybe agreed to quickly with Bellatrix on their future exchange, considering the timeline. But it felt wrong, so wrong to refuse this girl the knowledge, the understanding she otherwise would maybe never get.

 _You wont' tell anything about the future. But a little bit of input would not be to bad. Can't make anything wrong with telling her about airplanes and cars, can you?_

She sighed when Cranes called the lesson over, feeling a little depressed due to her former musing. Bellatrix, oblivious to Hermione's conflicted thoughts, twirled her wand around lazily, sporting again that mixture of boredom and arrogance in her face. Only smirking when Cranes praised her „outstanding performance" again. Hermione had to hide her smile at that.

They walked to Arithmancy with a suitable distance. It would be strange for both of them to walk next to each other like acquaintances, since they were pretty much seen as their mutual nemesis by everyone in the school. Annoying, but necessary. Well, both of them were acting so much in their daily life, that small bit hardly made a difference.

Thankfully, Arithmancy was mostly self-work today, so they could quietly work for themselves and even doing a little dozing when they were finished. It was a little harder to concentrate with only a few hours of sleep, but Hermione still managed, of course, since Arithmancy was her favorite subject.

When they could finally leave the room, Bellatrix shortly gave, only noticeable to Hermione, the smallest nod again before leaving without another word. Smiling to herself, Hermione went to get some dinner and, she decided, would make a break from Waterhouse-research for today and go to sleep soon. She was to tired to do so today. And one evening of relaxing could only do her good.

When she arrived at her dorm room, something was odd, though. She had wondered why she didn't see Dee and Hailey at Dinner, but thought they maybe were working in the library or something. Now though, she came in and saw Dee and Hailey standing in the middle of the room, their heads snapped up when Hermione entered, looking rather frustrated and desperate.

„Great that you're here, Jay, we could need your help with something." Hermione jumped when she heard a voice coming directly from behind her, only to see nothing when she turned around. She looked confused, since it had clearly been Hailey's voice, but how come it-…  
„I am sorry, please don't be scared…" Hermione saw Hailey's mouth moving, but their came no sound out of her mouth. But again, right behind Hermione she heard Hailey's voice, loud and clear. It had her confused for a few moments.

„There kind of happened a little misfortune, we made a small miscalculation…" Now Hermione heard Dee's voice, but it also didn't seem to emerge from Dee's mouth, but rather from the ceiling of the room.

„Misfortune?! _We?!_ " Hailey screamed, and since the voice was very close to Hermione, she jumped again.

„Aah, sorry, Jay! But, how can you describe this as „a little misfortune" if you were just trying one of your experimental bulls again, fucking up big way?!"

„I think you are a little overreacting right now…" Dee's detached voice said. „I will bloody give you overreacting, trust me." Hailey murmured behind Hermione.

Now Hermione had started to get an idea what happened to them both. She sat down on her bed, looking from one girl to the other, and started to smile. Then she giggled, until a full laughter emerged and shook her full body.

„Okay, explain it to me." Hermione said after her laughing receded, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. _Hilarious._ „What happened?"

Dee's ceiling-voice started. „Okay, you see…I kind of got the Idea for a new spell, which should make it possible for your voice to travel long distances… kind of a variation from the _sonorus-charm_ , but it could reach a specific person. And then I asked Hailey if I could try it with her…"

„It sounded safe enough." Hailey said with a sigh. „A spell that's basically a telephone-charm – I couldn't see how this could go wrong. Famous last words, I know. So, first, we only thought It didn't work. But over the last hours we noticed our voices would slowly detach from our bodies."

„So, your voice kind of _did_ travel, right?"

„Cute, really. And yeah, we're well aware of the irony. But in a few hours, our voices will be too far away for us to be understandable."

„Why don't you go to Madame Pomfrey?"

Dee was shifting a little. „Well, you know, I kind of had this talk with McGonagall, since she once caught me after my last…experiment. We had this ‚do this again and you get thrown out of this school'-talk. So it would be kind of awkward to go to the teachers…"

Hermione grinned and lifted her wand. „Alright, I understand." Let's see what we can do." She hadn't been Harry's and Ron's friend for six years for nothing. If she was good at one thing, it was getting people out of their problems.

„Close your eye's and relax, it probably won't hurt."

* * *

Sooooo. Thoughts? Leave a review if you want me to know :) Major plot development again, maybe I should start dropping more filler chapters in the future, haha. See you next week, then!

KSR – Hello there, again :) Always happy to see you again. And you see, your worries were unnecessary, not even a punch ;)

themedic32 – there you have your interaction! :D The girls did good, I'd say. (for now, at least ;) )

Lady R. Farris - thank you very much :) I'm always happy when I hear that someone enjoys the story, since it's my absolute first time writing fanfiction (or actually writing anything non-university-related in the end), so this really is a big motivation for me :) Also, tells me to drop the occasional Bellatrix-POV with in, won't be the last one of those!

Darkshadow-lord: There you have the reason :D Even Hermione has her clumsy moments.

SH4DOW44: Dramatic enough? :D Worth the try, on Hermione's side

guest: Happy you like it that much :) Hope this was to your liking!


	10. Chapter 10

Alright, on time for this chapter (Let's all appreciate it while it lasts, haha.. I have to move in a couple of weeks and together with work I'm not sure if I can do weekly updates for a while. But I'll try my best, promise! I'll take that moment to thank you all for your lovely support. You have no Idea how much it means to read your reviews and see how much you actually care for the story. It gets the feeling across I got when I started reading fanfiction and got into my favorite stories…reading that from you guys is really the greatest feeling for a first-time-writer. Thank you all so much!

So, next Chapter, enjoy! (I am a little ill and dead tired, I hope I didn't make a lot of mistakes .)

* * *

Chapter 10 – Chocolate, Ice and Firewhiskey

„We are looking for some trouble tonight  
We wanna party like a g6 Looking for those hot chicks  
I said get out the way  
I wanna rock the dance floor  
I got the moves  
You got the keys for the backdoor"

Eskimo Callboy, We're the Mess.

* * *

The next morning they went to breakfast as usual, Dee's and Hailey's voices thankfully attached to their vocal cords again. They only sounded a little hoarse today, which also could originate from their loud bickering, that apparently had went on for hours before Hermione had rescued them.  
While Hailey went off to Care for magical creatures, Dee and Hermione had decided to work for their homework for the next week, to take some of the stress from the incoming weekend.

As lunchtime arrived, a gleeful Hailey reported on her last class.

„Well, today Professor Kettleburn actually showed us a Bicorn, which was pretty awesome and dangerous on both accounts, he hopes to gather its horn in about two month from now, so we learned how to take care for them and.." Her face became pouty at that point. "...in the end, how to _trick_ them, steal their beloved horn and _destroy_ the potential friendship we would have built with the animal."

„A friendship, yes?" Dee asked drily.

„His name is Spencer and I could never do this to him."

„Of course you couldn't."

"Anyway, thankfully, Black's mood wasn't _too_ foul today, so we had an almost relaxed lesson. Bicorns can get really dangerous when angered…"

„What do you mean by that?" Hermione asked curious.

„Dunno, she just didn't tease anyone of us or tried to taunt the animal into something. I would daresay she was in a good mood, beats me why but I won't complain, mind you."

Hermione didn't say anything, just chewed on her lunch, deep in thought.

It wasn't until she heard the rustling noise of feathering next to her that she looked up again, as a mostly grey barred owl landed near her plate and stretched out a leg for her to take a small, scribbled note which was attached on it. Hermione opened it curiously. Who would send her letters, McGonagall maybe?

 _Are you free tomorrow? If you like, we could continue our conversation from yesterday. We could meet after breakfast. There is a place behind the lake with a small Pavillon that would be perfect. Just send Scida with your answer. Don't worry, she wont fly directly to me but bring it to my dorm room._

 _Regards, B._

Hermione thought it through for a bit. She was mostly finished with her homework and had planned to continue with the Waterhouse-research on this weekend. But, she finally had to admit, she was at a point were the library wouldn't help her much more. She needed to take action soon. _If only I found that small detail…I know it has to be somewhere…_

But, on this regard, extending her break from it would not be too bad, so she took a small piece of parchment and wrote her agreement to Bellatrix, which she fixed on the leg of the owl again, after treating it to some toast. The bird allowed her to nuzzle her neck a little, then flew of. As Bellatrix promised, not directly to her, but out of the great hall. Hermione had only a short time to muse how an Owl would get into the dungeons, when someone interrupted her wandering thoughts.

„Something interesting?" Hailey asked, eying Hermione.

„Oh, only a short note from a friend from home how I am" Hermione quickly replied.

„Ah, I see. Must be hard without them here, right?"

Hermione smiled sadly at that. „You have no Idea."

* * *

The day stayed uneventful, after she organized her meticulously taken notes from history of magic about the formation of the wizengamot, Hailey and she went to see Dee at Dinner. Dee suggested, after they worked on the remains of their homework – it was really amazing how she never had to persuade the girls in working, oh the merits of being a Ravenclaw – to spend the rest of the day lazy, so Hailey got them some hot chocolate from the kitchen while the others claimed their favorite seats near the fire. Sipping at her drink contently, Hermione was watching the crackling fire when Hailey let out a long sigh.

„How awesome would it be to have a television right now?"

Hermione chuckled. „Quite, I guess. But then the students would work even less, don't you think?"

„Depends on the program."

„ _Tevelisions_ were those things you could watch small people in, right?" Dee asked curiously.

„I never understood why muggle-studies aren't mandatory." Hailey replied drily, while Hermione snickered a little and started to explain the correct use of a TV to the pureblood-girl in front of her.

By now, she knew she liked both of the girls by heart, both remembering her, in some aspects at least, of some of her friends.

Dee's almost non-existing knowledge about the muggle-world reminded her a lot of Ron, even if her mostly layed-back and calm character sometimes remembered her of Harry's. Hailey was a lot more like Ginny, maybe a tad more studious and apparently completely untalented in Quidditch. While they had some resemblances to her friends, they were still very unique in their way. Dee seemed like a calm girl on the outside, her interest in experimental magic again showed she still had a little crazier streak to her than the common knowledge was. Hailey on her part was creative and empathetic, even if often over the top and probably talked more than Hermione herself. The Now-Ravenclaw smiled and nipped at her Chocolate again.

If she had been born to this time, she mused, the three of them would probably have grown pretty close over the years, if the hat had decided to put her in Ravenclaw. _What he said he would have,_ she thought with a small frown, but pushed the thought aside for now. She imagined to meet those two girls on her first ride to Hogwarts, Dee telling them about the magical world, while Hailey and her would have listened and in return tell Dee about their world. They would have been together in their first attempts of the pure-bloods to harass them about their heritage, would have stand strong together and maybe could have made an influence even then.

She would have been part of their first Quidditch lesson, where she and Hailey would've failed together, they could have laughed, could have been close friends without her secret lingering above her like a dark shadow.

And maybe I could have been an earlier and genuine influence on Bellatrix, without worrying about the timelines. I guess there isn't only physical damage long-time-travel could do to your body. Hermione thought sadly, when she considered, that, in a few month, she would probably never see the girls again. _Save Bellatrix, and I am pretty sure I don't want to meet her in my time again._

„Say, Jay, next week is the first official Hogsmeade trip. You probably have never been there, right?" Hailey asked the unusually quiet Hermione.

Hermione shifted a little. „Uhm…no, it's pretty new to me I guess. I vaguely know how the village is organised, though. I've read a lot about it."

This was only partly lied. She had never been to this times Hogsmeade, even if she doubted a lot had changed over the thirty years. If Hermione knew one thing, wizards didn't seem to comfortable with rush changes.

„You will be absolutely amazed, I just know" Hailey nodded to herself.

The brunette smiled. „Yeah, probably. I am looking forward to it." Hailey and Dee grinned at her. „You should." Both said in union.

„We also have to buy supplies for the Halloween-Party." Hailey said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.  
„I have almost no firewhiskey left."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. It wasn't lost on the other girls, though. Hailey and Dee both rolled their eyes at their newest friend. „Really Jay. One could think you _never_ did something against the rules before you came here."

„More often then I like, to be honest."

* * *

The next morning, Hermione was awake early and also a little jumpy when she stood up. Both other girls tended to sleep longer if they had the chance, but she couldn't bring herself to go back to sleep, since today she would meet up with Bellatrix again.

She quickly finished her morning routine and went in the great hall for a quick breakfast. She overlooked the Slytherin-table, but under the few students Bellatrix was nowhere to be seen. Not surprising, since it was still pretty early.

She made her way out to the grounds of the castle. She didn't exactly knew where that Pavillon was, since she could not remember it still being there in her time. She carefully made a wide distance around Hagrid's Hut so the half-giant would not get to see her, they were way to close friends later to meet in this timeline.

She didn't need too long to find the Pavillon, even if it was pretty far away from the castle, near the forbidden forest. The Slytherin probably chose that place because almost nobody would go that far out or near the forest. Hermione mused, while sitting down in the small wooden structure. It was a pretty place, you could overlook the lake and the castle as well, while not being seen in return. Hermione had been around a lot the castle and it's grounds, but could absolutely not remember this place. It let her immediately wonder if it had been destroyed, since it was quite lovely here, the isolation only enriching the quite magical atmosphere. Or maybe she just never noticed this place. Still, it was a waste either way. _When I return to Hogwarts in the future, I'll check on that._

 _Wouldn't seem strange if one or two unicorns would start playing here._ The brunette mused while taking out a book from her enchanted bag. She had quite some time until Bellatrix would arrive so she could as well relax for that reminder.

But it wasn't even 5 minutes until she heard a voice behind her.

„You're pretty early, aren't you?"

Hermione was a little startled when she turned around. She didn't hear footsteps or anything when the witch got closer to her. _Stealthy._ Bellatrix crooked her head to the side and held up her hand as a greeting, standing at the entrance of the Pavillon.

„Could say the same to you" Hermione said, smiling to the dark witch, . „And I only just got here as well. Needed to find this place first, mind you."

„Right." Bellatrix said, frowning a little while slowly coming closer and sitting down next to Hermione. „Sorry, didn't think about that, I should have explained it better."

Hermione only waved her hand. „Was easy enough to find."

They were silent for a few moments, until Bellatrix caught eye of the book.

„ _The metamorphosis_?"

„Yeah, It's one of my favorite books from the muggle world."

Bellatrix shifted a little closer to get a glimpse of the short novel. „Tell me about it?"

Hermione smiled. „It's a story about the traveling merchant Gregor Samsa. One day he wakes up and his body has changed into a giant bug."

Bellatrix looked with wide eyes at her. „Like an Animagus? Can muggles do that?"

„Haha, no, this work is purely fiction. Well, let's rather say, it's all highly metaphoric. At first, his family tries to live with the new ‚him', since he can't change back. Bit the situation with him grows worse and worse, until he finally dies, out of his own wish. It's a deep and melancholic story and, in it's own way, beautiful."

Bellatrix remained silent at that, obviously thinking about what she had heard from the brunette.

„It actually sounds pretty amazing." She finally said with a slight smirk. „And who would have thought you would be into the creepy stuff? A giant insect, really?" Hermione huffed a little at that. „Well, I appreciate good literature. And if you want, see for yourself." She threw the thin booklet into the other witches lap. „You can borrow it, have fun reading."

Bellatrix looked again at her. „Really?"

„Sure, I have read it often enough. I'm sure you'll like it." Hermione smirked. In the end, sharing knowledge was one of the things she could easily use to get closer to the dark witch, since it was kind of the reason for their encounter.

„Thank you…" Bellatrix said astonished, while browsing superficially through the booklet before putting it in her own bag.

„Men changing in giant insects…" She murmured. „If muggles are on thing, they're inventive, I guess." It let Hermione smile again.

„Soo… let's see how good we can clarify them good ol' pureblood-believes of yours." Hermione tried to start joking, only to receive an quirked eyebrow from Bellatrix.

„No, really. Tell me what you think you know about the muggle-society, apart from the stuff I told you a couple of days ago. It's also pretty interesting for me, since I really don't know what the pureblood-societies view on us is. Of course I know it can't be good, but nevertheless."

Bellatrix shifted a little. „Well, okay, but I guess this will be pretty embarrassing. From the few things you told me, I gathered that almost everything I heard up to that point is pretty much bollocks."

Hermione looked at her, more serious now. „That's not embarrassing. You are not at fault for being falsely educated and it's highly respectable of you to want to do differently, since you had the feeling something didn't add up."

Bellatrix looked again at her, now twisted, chewing on her bottom lip again. „And", Hermione said with a wry smile. „At least you knew all along the muggles _existed_. For me, you had only been parts of fairytales until I was eleven. I only had the chance to learn from more open-minded people than you."

Bellatrix still looked unsure of herself, but nodded. „Okay you're right. I'll spill. But only if you promise to tell me about those magical fairy tales afterwards, okay?"

„Deal." The brunette grinned.

After that, they developed a game of some kind. Bellatrix started with a statement her parents or fellow purebloods had made about the muggle-world and she would try to gather from Hermione's expression how wrong that suggestion was. Hermione had of course known that the pureblood-view on muggle-borns and muggles had been twisted, just _how_ twisted really was the icing on the cake for her. Mostly, she could not decide if she should be angry at how blunt those people were able to lie to preserve their own view of the world, sometimes she found it completely hilarious, though.

„Once my parents told me that muggles aren't able to craft decent clothes for them."

Hermione quirked an eyebrow and a smirk tucked at the corner of her mouth.

„Oh, and what are we wearing, then?"

„Uhm, well…" Bellatrix said, obvious highly uncomfortable with this particular subject. Hermione grinned a little wider at that display of awkwardness.

„The leaders of your… _tribes_ are clothed in crude animal hides…and…and the other people…"  
„ _Yeees_?" Hermione almost could not hold her laughter at the moment.

„…the other people are going na..ked…" Bellatrix sighed, a slight blush of embarrassment about this creeping on her pale cheeks.

At that point Hermione broke out in uncontrolled laughing fits. „Oh my god! I can't believe it. How is it possible this was even _established_ between purebloods? It is like you never had seen a muggle in your life!"

Bellatrix pouted. „Well..I didn't, I think. Mother and father wouldn't let us near them. As a child, it sounded rational to me…"

„Hahaha, I can believe that. And how did this work for muggle-born magic-students? Imagine Professor McGonagall between a hoard of naked people trying to get to one child, with a robe for the kid, explaining that it has to wear this now and _please_ come with her?" Hermione felt tears emerge from the corners of her eye. „Oh god, this is too much."

By now, Bellatrix had fallen with her into the laughter, that image of the stern teacher between a bunch of naked wilds really was too hilarious.

„Soo…" She said after she had calmed down „Care to tell me the correct tale?"

„Sure." Hermione said, while wiping of the leftover tears from her cheeks.

„First, what I wear right now are muggle clothes. And I have never been naked in public, mind you."

Bellatrix eyed Hermione's clothing consisting of a pair of sneakers, jeans, a jumper and a light jacket above. „Looks more practical than wizarding clothes."

„Yeah, because I like to wear it like this. Believe me, there is a wide range of highly unpractical and uncomfortable muggle clothes out there."

„Why would they wear those?"

„Fashion."

Hermione let Bellatrix muse a few moments over those newly won knowledge. Then, she snickered again.

„Okay, what I gathered by now is, that you primarily think that Muggles are still stuck in the stone-age, right?"

„Stone-age?"

Hermione sighed inwardly and silently agreed with Hailey. _And next to muggle-studies, muggle-history should also be mandatory._ With that, Hermione started to explain, extremely superficial, the different parts of the human history, beginning from the stone age. When She reached the middle-ages, Bellatrix frowned.

„This sounds awfully familiar somehow, at least in some parts."

Hermione smiled at her, sadly. Well…yes. In some points, the wizarding-society lives a lot like they had in the middle-ages…"

It let Bellatrix frown become deeper.

„And the muggles have developed that much since then? Looks like complete dependence on magic wasn't the best thing we could have done…"

Hermione shrugged. „Muggles grow more dependent on technology as the days come by, that's probably just the same."

„Technology..you mean stuff like cars?"

Hermione was amazed how quick Bellatrix was on the uptake, knowing this little about the muggle world but nonetheless developing connections. She nodded. „Yes, like that. And a lot more, but this would go to far right now, I think."

She looked at her watch. „And lunchtime just started, we better get back to the castle soon. It was amazing how quickly the time had went by. Bellatrix was an eager listener. And since she seems like she wanted to know everything about the muggle-world, the flow of questions never ended. Even now, Hermione saw the slight pout on her face. It let her reconsider.

„Well…I have some rather unhealthy muggle-snacks in my back, we could eat here and then go for a little walk? I still owe you some of the muggle-fairytales, I think." Hermione smiled at the black haired witch next to her, even if she felt a little unsure. They already had talked for several hours and maybe it would become to much for the other witch. Even her closest friends could not listen to her constant babbling for so long.

Suddenly, Bellatrix started to beam in a way, that let Hermione be happy she made that suggestion. „That would be awesome."

With that, Hermione opened her small back and started searching for their lunch. After one or two minutes of fruitless searching, she lost her patience. „Oh, for god's sake, this bag… _accio_!

With that, the required items flew into her hands. Bellatrix raised her eyebrows when Hermione produced two small bottles of water, some sandwiches and two chocolate-bars from her bag.

„I doubt this is muggle-made, then?"

Hermione shrugged. „Well, in some cases wizards clearly outmatch muggles. Here." She handed the food to Bellatrix. She had used a charm to keep the food fresh, what would work for at least 3 month. No refrigerator could do that, at least.

„Well, at least in some cases…" Bellatrix muttered darkly, thanked Hermione for the food and started nibbling on her Sandwich.

While eating, a comfortable silence emerged between them, only interrupted by Bellatrix twice, first, when she asked Hermione about the strange material the watter-bottle were made off – _Plastic_ – and when she complimented the muggle society on their skills in chocolate-bar-crafting.

After their quick lunch, both of them could not stand to sit around any longer, so they decided on a walk along the lake. While walking, Hermione told Bellatrix three of her favorite childhood-fairytales. Which consisted of Snow White, the Little Mermaid and the Beauty and the Beast.  
Bellatrix had to smirk at her name-resemblance to the Heroine of the last story.

Bellatrix, in return, rewarded her with one of her favorite childhood stories. Or rather, a memory, since she experienced it herself around the age of 10. Apparently, she and her sisters, before they entered Hogwarts, had tried to steal some of their parents brooms to go on a little detour to look at the place beforehand. Bellatrix and Andromeda could fly at that time, Bellatrix put Narcissa simply in front of her on the broom, and off they were. Their parents caught them after about half an hour and gave the girls the worst curfew order of their lives. Even if Bellatrix insisted they would've made it to the castle, especially since she almost escaped their parents servant who was in charge of catching them at that time.

"It was the moment I knew I would go for the Quidditch try outs." She finished the story next to a gleefully laughing Hermione.

The day had went on way quicker then both of the girls had anticipated. When neither of them had the energy to walk any further, they sat down near the lake, knowing soon it would be a goodbye for today.

„Can I ask you one final question?" Bellatrix wanted to know after a while, hugging her legs close to her body.

„Of course." Hermione said, mimicking the raven girls action.

„What do you think is the most impressive thing about muggles and muggle-society in general?"

Hermione had to think about this for a short while, until she settled on her answer.

„I think, it would be their ability to adapt. Regardless the situation, they use their abilities to the fullest, gathering knowledge in every available direction. There isn't a „not possible" for muggles.

Bellatrix was silent for a while and than said, with a surprisingly haunted voice. „Yes, I imagined you would say something like that."

When Hermione looked at Bellatrix at how her voice sounded, her eyes widened. Bellatrix still hugged her legs close with one hand the other was cramped in her mass of black curls, revealing red shimmering eyes to Hermione. „It sucks, really."

„What exactly?" Hermione asked carefully.

„I was really scared about our meeting today, you know." It was more of a statement than an actual question on the Slytherins side.

„Why?"

„Because I _knew_ I would be dumfounded and wrong-proven by what you would tell me. That you would proof _everything_ wrong I ever learned about the muggle-world my whole life. That a huge part of my life was just a fucking _lie_."

Hermione was a loss at words, but Bellatrix went on, talking herself in a frenzy. She heard hurt pride, sadness and confusion.

„I don't even know where to start! First, I feel like a total idiot! _Obviously_ , I had my doubts about what my parents told me, but I can't believe how far it is from the actual truth. And I don't even know a fragment of that world. I know NOTHING, for god's sake. And what about my family? Do they really believe what they're saying? Or were they manipulating us from the start? _How idiotic!_ Muggles seem to be amazing, developing their abilities to extends we could not even dream off while feeling superior because of our magical abilities that most witches and wizards aren't even capable of handling correctly. _What stupid, fucking ARROGANCE, for merlin's sake._ And the forsaken purebloods are the worst. _It will be our fucking downfall someday!"_

Bellatrix smashed her fist out of frustration against the grass beneath her.

Hermione just looked at her, mouth slightly open. It came down to her how hard this had to be for the other witch right now. She felt like she was tricked for her whole life, from her family nonetheless. And, Hermione had to admit, she was. It felt surreal to hear those words from one of the proudest purebloods she had ever known in the future. She would have never dreamed that the witch could be so thoughtful, so self-aware.

She was at a loss how to comfort the Slytherin next to her, but decided she had to do something at least. So, awkwardly she put a hand on the shoulder of the girl, who had put her head between her knees by know, arms circled her head and legs as if she wanted to protect herself.

„Right now, you are the absolute evidence that this scenario is totally avoidable."

„How did you work that one out?" The girl in question said, turning her head to look at the brunette between her curly hair.

„You know, I think you are a lot like Belle from Beauty and the beast. No, hear me out." She said when she caught the look on Bellatrix face. „All the villagers were prejudiced of the beast, who, in the end, was a shining prince. Maybe the comparison is a little off, but you are the one to break through that prejudice and look behind the facade. That's quite amazing."

Bellatrix actually smiled a little at that.

„And" Hermione added cryptically. „Maybe there are others within the pure-bloods who think like you? Who aren't dense enough to ignore the evidence either." Thinking about Andromeda. _The sisters are so close right now..why can't they reach each other about the most important thing?_

Bellatrix sighed and sat up straight again. „Maybe…who knows. Ugh, those earth-shattering insight always give me a headache." She said, half-jokingly. „You won't happen to have any firewhiskey or muggle-alcohol in that nice bag of yours, would you?"

Hermione snorted at that in good humor. „Sadly, no. I am not too good ad holding my liquor, you know?"

Bellatrix smirked mischievously at her. „Critical information you're giving me here, Gabor. I bet you're hilarious when drunk."

„Sadly, we'll never find out." Hermione said drily.

„We'll see on that. The Halloween-parties in Hogwarts are legendary."

Hermione crooked hear had to the dark witch. „You know…Muggles also celebrate Halloween. It mostly consists of people dressing up in strange costumes."

„Really? All the people?!"

„Well, mostly children. They dress up in some cute costumes as vampires or zombies and knock on doors to get sweets. And, I guess, a lot of people in their teens or twenties, even if it's mostly in the context of highly slutty dresses and a lot of alcohol."

Bellatrix gave her a queer look. „Your people have some weird traditions."

„High, coming from you."

„Touché, I guess."

Hermione looked at the Sky, which color had changed from blue to a creamy orange in the last hour.

„I think we should head back, shouldn't we?"

„Yeah, probably, starts to get a little fresh anyway."

They stood up and slowly started to walk back to the castle.

„Thank you, Jean, really. I appreciate your effort." Bellatrix said earnestly.

„It was a pleasure, really." The brunette smiled.

At some point in front of the castle they stopped.

„Well, I guess you'll go first in the direction of the dungeons, I just wait here for a minute, alright?"

„Sounds good." Bellatrix nodded. „Well, good night then." Before going, she quickly squeezed Hermione's shoulder with her hand as a last, thankful gesture and vanished in the direction of the castle.

When Hermione entered the castle soon after Bellatrix, neither of the girls did notice the figure that entered shortly after both of them.

* * *

The three Ravenclaw Girls spent an uneventful yet relaxing Weekend, since they had finished their homework during the week. No late-pleading from her friends to let her see her notes really was refreshing, even if she had to admit she even missed that otherwise annoying fact about her ‚future'-friends. Hermione also knew she was somehow lazy about the whole Cataract-affair now, but she had come into a low concerning this subject. She couldn't shake the feeling she had overseen something important which should be obvious. And she really hoped it would come to her soon, but she had spent hours over hours on thinking about this and just felt like the break was the best thing she could to right now. And nothing felt better at the moment than listening to Dee's and Hailey's excitement about the upcoming Halloween-party. Apparently, directly after the party in the great hall, which mostly lasts until 22 O'clock, most of the students from the fifth to the seventh year from every house would meet up in another location at the castle to celebrate for themselves. When Hermione asked if the teachers would be okay with that, Hailey only rolled her eyes while Dee answered with a sympathetic smile.

„For good grace the students choose another location every year. The teachers are nice enough to let us have our fun, as long as we don't do anything over the top. When we come to class obviously hungover, we sometimes get detention. But if you don't overdo it, you're safe."

Hermione thought about it for a moment, then smiled. „It's nice to see the different houses to be so connected to each other and not only compete für the House Cup."

Dee and Hailey looked at each other, then shrugged. „Well, sure..would be strange to hate each other because we are in different houses, right? Sure, some of the Slytherins can be giant jerks, like the oldest Black and Malfoy, but you can talk decently with some of them." Dee said. Hermione shifted a little in her seat but otherwise remained silent.

„And her younger sister is pretty nice." Hailey interjected, shrugging again.

„Narcissa?" Hermione asked, curious.

„No, Andromeda. Well, I don't know about Narcissa since I've never really talked to her. Most of the Snakes look pretty much down on me, but Andy is different, though." Hailey said, without the need to explain she was referring to her Muggle-heritage.

„Maybe there are more who don't think like that as you think." Hermione said vaguely, thinking of her meeting with Bellatrix.

„Well, yeah, but if you're in Slytherin and openly spread your friendliness about muggle-borns you won't have an easy life anymore. You're seen as a blood traitor and will be treated equally to them." Dee said drily.

Hermione sank back in her seat, looking out of a window where she saw the sun slowly sinking to introduce the upcoming night.

„That bad, huh?"

„Yeah…sadly. _Gladly_ , they're mostly civil, except for some idiots like Malfoy and the eldest Black."

Hermione scowled at that information, but remained silent, preferring to watch the sunset above than to discuss this specific subject right now.

* * *

The next week was relatively calm, even if Hermione started to become giddy again, since there was no progress with Waterhouse _at all_. It irked her without end, but she still didn't have that mental breakthrough she needed. Regardless, she was looking forward to their Hogsmeade-visit. She was curious how much the little wizarding-village had changed over thirty years. Probably not much, but still.

The other thing she had started to look forward were her now regularly meetings with Bellatrix.

This Tuesday, they had, despite Hermione telling her again a bunch of stories about the muggle world, mostly talked about the different jobs that were necessary in the muggle world to keep the society working, Bellatrix had been especially conflicted with the garbage collection – _You actually need to collect trash? What the...–_ they had, at some point, started to talk about normal all day stuff. Their schoolwork for example. Bellatrix had even shown her one of her wrist-techniques for casting protection-charms, which would allow Hermione to switch quicker to the next one in combat. For that, Hermione treated the grinning Bellatrix to another of her now-favorite chocolate-bars.

The more time she spent with the dark haired witch, the more Hermione had to admit that she liked the girl. She was intelligent, studious and fought against the prejudice she knew she inherited like no one Hermione has ever met. She was confident, at least as much as with Hailey and Dee, that, if she had been born to this time, she and Bellatrix would've been good friends. She never seemed to mind if Hermione talked to much, even encouraged her to tell her more and never lost her interest in discussions they held.  
They had known each other for only a short time, but Hermione already felt strangely close to the girl. It left her with a myriad of different and somehow contradict emotions.

 _Puzzled_ \- still the overwhelming feeling when she thought about her current situation. Sitting with Bellatrix Black in the quire room, enjoying a chocolate – bar while talking about muggle stuff – because Bellatrix _wanted_ it. _What kind of fictional story am I in, really?_ Movies, besides, were another thing Bellatrix seemed to be really fascinated about - _talking people in a box? But they are only recorded… I am not sure I understand, to be honest._ This was probably one of the things you had to show instead of tell. Well, it was what a movie was all about.

 _Conscience-stricken_ \- It was a feeling that often enough crept upon her, like a nausea. This was the future torturer of Neville's parents, the killer of Sirius and who knows how many other crimes. Whenever Hermione looked at Bellatrix, she felt like she saw a shadow of what she would become in the future. And that she interacted with her and even liked her… well, she basically felt like she betrayed her friends. She often had to remember herself that this girl was not yet the woman she would become later. And the more time she spent with her, it became more and more difficult to imagine this could ever happen. It didn't help her conscience, that she also had to lie to Bellatrix all the time, either.

 _Amazed_ \- If Hermione needed to describe Bellatrix and would be completely honest, she would downright say she was pretty _cool._ Good looking, intelligent and an ace in sports. _She sounds like the heroine of a high school novel. It's a shame her marriage will be arranged for her…_

„–listen?"

„What?" Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts when she realized that Bellatrix had said something to her. „Sorry, come again?"

Bellatrix rolled her eyes. „I just asked you if you listened to me. But I could just answer this for myself." She said with a wry smile. „Before that, I asked if you will go to Hogsmeade this weekend."

„Ah, sorry. Eh, yes, Hailey and Dee will show me around a little." „I see." Bellatrix said and suddenly had a weird look in her face. Hermione couldn't really pinpoint it, but if she needed to guess it would be – relief?

„You going to?"

„Nah, I've been to Hogsmeade often enough, don't really need it. And since I'm not in charge of the booze for this years Halloween-Party, I don't really see a need to go."

„Understandable." Hermione nodded. „When I was a kid, my parents used to take me to the same amusement-park every year. At first I really loved it, but later I begged them we could do something else instead, visiting a museum or something like that."

„And what exactly is an amusement-park?"

Hermione grinned. „You would love it." She started with her next explanation on Amusement rides, Ferris Wheels and ghost trains.

* * *

The week went off quickly and the hogsmeade-weekend soon rolled by. Hermione really felt a little excited, since she hadn't anticipated to visit the city anytime soon since she never actually planned to return to her seventh year in Hogwarts. So it was really welcome when the Ravenclaw-Girls drag her out into the fresh morning air to go to the city. She actually had asked McGonagall if she could go, but from her side it had been no problem.  
„Since you're of age Ms. Gabor, I don't see any problem with you going and it would not be in my authority to forbid you that." Hermione nodded, thanked her and turned around to go again, when the older witch asked. „While you're here, is there any progress with your, lets say „task" at hand?"

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. „I think…there might be…in the future" She finally said. „But it still has to be seen." Professor McGonagall only nodded at that and dismissed her.

Hermione technically hadn't lied, she still hoped there would be something in the „future" she could do, even if it was a pretty tensile choice of words.

So she was happy, to, once again, ignore the matter at hand and just enjoy her day with her two companions. They had promised her a full tour of the city and took their task pretty seriously. First, they visited the post-station with hundrets of owls delivering different tasks as they flew in and out with a deafening sound of squeaking, crawing and screeching. They strolled along the village after that, looking in different shops for books, quills & inks and also went to the joke article shop. In one giftshop, Hermione bought presents for Harry and Ron, both would get Shirts from their favorite Quidditch team. Hermione snickered. _This is like living Quidditch-history, I guess._ Then, they went to the honeyduke's to eat a decidedly unhealthy snack, their next stop would be the shrieking shack. Much like in Hermione's third year, they leaned against the fence to look up to the building. While Hailey did a little explaining, Hermione had a narrow smile on her face, remembering her adventures in that building.

After that, it was nearly afternoon by now, they had decided to go to the three broomsticks to warm up a little. When they sat in a relatively quiet corner, hearing the distant chatting of other costumers, mostly students today, they let out a content sigh in union when their Butterbeer arrived. Served not from the curvy Madame Rosmerta that Hermione would know in the future, but from a leaky young man in his twenties. „So…what do you think? In general?" Hailey asked curious after sipping from her drink.

Hermione, who had tried her best to show a face of curious-excitement for the whole journey, since supposedly she had never been to the village, grinned at the other girls. „It was pretty amazing, alright." It still didn't feel good to lie to the girls, but the day had been amazing. It just wasn't as new to her as they anticipated.

„You probably already know, but this is said to be one of the first only-wizarding-villages in great Britain." Dee mused. „It's kind of exciting to be at a place were it kind of..began, right? The wizarding community and such."

A place were it began.

 _„If you are willing, first look at the prime, go to the place where it begins."_

How could she've been so stupid!

She quickly rose, startling the girls next to her, who gave her a confused look in return.

„I, uhm, I have to go." Hermione stated. „I just remembered I forgot a part on my essay for Slughorn."

„Seriously?" Dee asked disbelieving. „You had a whole week for it, this isn't like you." „Well, I was just so excited for the visit and I just remembered…" Hermione trailed off.

„Well, sucks." Hailey said, not looking at Hermione, sipping her Butterbeer again. „But we showed you the most important stuff, we probably would have stayed her anyway getting drunk. So no harm in you heading back a little early. Good luck with the essay."

„Thank you, guys. See you later." Hermione said, and with a last look to their faces, she quickly trailing off into the night. She had a strange feeling somehow, it wasn't like Hailey to just let go on a matter that even Hermione had to admit was a bad excuse. Dee only looked confused when she left, Hailey however had a strange look on her face that bothered the brunette a little who now was halfway back to the castle. As if she knew something and actually tried to help me out…

Shaking this line of thoughts from her mind, she hurried back to the castle, coming back to the Idea that had forged a few minutes ago.

 _I think I had the wrong approach. I have to make sure._

By now, she had entered the castle and hurried to the library. The notebook was safely tucked away in her enchanted bag, but she had memorized the poem by now anyway. There was something else she had to look up again.

She always had thought ‚the place where it begins' would have been Hogwarts, since the infamous fifth house should be here as well. But maybe that was wrong. Maybe she had to look deeper, to go further…

„ _AAAAAAAAAARGH_!"

Halfway to the library, she was ripped out of her thoughts when suddenly a huge quantity of ice-cold water washed over her, leaving her with an outcry of surprise and discomfort, not to mention in a puddle of icy cold water, wet to the bone.

„WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" She cried out in a high pitched voice, she already began to shiver.

It was, when a group of 4 students, Slytherins, recognizable through their uniform, emerged from a near corner. She only recognized one of them for sure. An arrogantly laughing Lucius Malfoy looked at her, next to him tree other guys, all of them were bursting out in laughing over her drenched appearance.

„Oh my god, this really is the best catch so far. Never get's boring, really. Hey, Bella, come on and look at this, i bet you'll like it."

„Mh, this better be a good one, I'm almost bored of those first-years crying…" The haughty posture of Bellatrix emerged from the corner, a slightly bored look in her face. „Soo, who do we have here now..." She said with a sweet voice, turning her head slowly in Hermione's direction.

Bellatrix was one of the people with the palest complexions Hermione had ever met. But as soon as she laid eyes on their new victim, she lost the least bit of color she had had in her face. It would have been amusing, Bellatrix Black with a look on her face as a small child who was caught with a broken vase in her hand. It would have. If Hermione wouldn't have been so furious. She would not have been surprised if she would have dried herself by sheer force of ire right now.

Lucius only laughed more on that, missing Bellatrix' strange behavior since he only eyed Hermione. „Nice we got the new mudblood. Maybe you're cleaner now, what do you think? I doubt it for my part."

Hermione drew her wand. There were so much things she would like to hex the now young Malfoy and his friends with. Or maybe she would prefer a good old punch in the face like with his later son.  
And Bellatrix. That treacherous… _bitch_. Hermione knew, even more since she saw Bellatrix expression, that it wasn't part of the plan to catch her here. She remembered something. That was why she asked me if I would go to Hogsmeade…so I would not notice what she's doing. From one second to the other, she became calm.

The five Slytherins were eying her, not used to a reaction like that.

She pointed the wand at herself.

„ _Siccio_ ". As soon as she spoke the drying-spell, she felt warm and comfy again, at least on the outside.

„What, no fighting back, muddy? There really is not much willpower in you, right?"

„I just refuse to lower myself to your level, Malfoy." She said drily, wand casually at her side. „It's pathetic how you try to put yourself over others by bullying them in a group, waiting for your victims. It's sickening how weak you are."

Lucius growled. „You take that back."

„You can't take back words and actions. It defines the person you are, right here, right now." Hermione said calmly, walking by the group of Slytherins. When she was on eye level with Lucius, she stopped shortly.

She looked over the group of Slytherins, looking at Bellatrix, who stood in the back, for a second longer and met her gaze. The witch was biting her lower lip again.

„And _right now_ , all I see is disappointment."

With that, she went away.

„Who would care if you're disappointed in us, muddy?" Lucius snarled. „I take it as a compliment. And don't just walk away from your betters. _Stupefy_!"

Hermione had waited for that. Since she had started talking she had slowly build up a _protego_ -charm around her back, since she had anticipated Lucius to use unfair tricks to get to her. Trying to hit her with the jinx on full force, it bounced of quite effectively on her shield. The cry of the young blonde showed Hermione it had found another target. Without another word or glance, she went to the library.

* * *

Oh. A nice relationship development you've got here.  
Would be a shame, if someone…  
Fucked it up.

Nah, you could've guessed I wouldn't make it SO easy for the girls. That also would be a little too boring, I think you'll agree with me on that one. Right now I don't even know how much chapters this will going to have (pretty sure my calculation broke the 30 recently but thats the absolute minimum, planned Sequel (I expect excited screaming right now) not included.

(Again, I'm sorry. There are so much reviews I feel like replying to, but fanfiction and my email account don't always show me the same reviews and I get confused and forget to answer . But be sure I read and appreciate every one of them!)

Glokaa: Wow, it literelly is so awesome for me that someone ‚recommended' my story oO I feel friggin' honored, you can believe that! Thats awesome :) I'm so glad you both like it!

TimeClockz: That we'll se…well, in the future :D Thanks a bunch for the compliment!

SH4D0W44: Still funny? :D

Mandy: THAT would be telling, dear :D Do not fear, I love my fluff and this story will have plenty.

KSR: Well, obviously you were right about the setbacks. They're like a given in Bellamione-stories, I think. And how I would love to answer your questions, but we'll need to be patient ;) La: Thank you so much, you literally have no Idea how much a review like that motivates me :) No fear, even if I need a little more time for a few weeks, I absolutely intend on finishing the story.

Boomerang: Thank you so much :) Yeah..moving…I feel you right now, friend.

MilandaAnza: Nice guess, I admit, but not quite, so much I can say i think ;) Since Hermione just cut it out of her conclusion. But whoo knows what that girl is thinking right now, right? ;)

'Till next week, guys!


	11. Chapter 11

Hello there guys, the new Chapter for you. We hit chapter 10 last week and I just want to generally say thanks to all of you! The reviews have ben overwhelmingly positive, warm and friendly and more than I ever could've imagined! You're all absolutely awesome and motivate me SO much to write, you've no Idea! Sadly, regardless of that I have a small announcement a few of you could find a little annoying. Since its the end of the term for students in Germany (no clue how it's for other countries :D) and I' also moving soon, I probably will not have much time to write and edit for a few weeks. I try my best, but I really can't promise anything until the start of April again, since I don't just wanna shit out chapters but want to put my heart into it (wow, how cheesy…forget that line) But well. Now, just enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11 - Trick or treat

„And you wanna see the world  
Through different eyes just for tonight  
And you're hoping that this night will never end  
You'll surrender if you  
Feel the music fold around you and pull you into the light  
Feel how it takes away your strain and stress  
And turns it into light just for tonight."

Jamie Berry, Delight

* * *

 _Can we talk, please? B._

Hermione had found this text on a piece of parchment when she returned to her dorm-room about an hour later. Bellatrix' owl Scida had still sat with the parchment on her bedpost, waiting to deliver an answer to her mistress. Hermione had scratched the owls neck when she said. „I really don't want to talk to Bellatrix right now, I am sorry. She behaved like a total dork. And if you want to, give her a good pick on her forehead, will you?" The owl looked at her with thoughtful eyes, let out a small ‚hoot' and flew out of one of the windows, back into the evening.

Hermione put it in her bag, not wanting Dee and Hailey to find it. Most of her rage had dried out by now – she had dealt with worse, really – but she was still irked by the witches behavior and not willing to talk to her right now.

On top, the overwhelming feeling right now was sheer excitement, since she finally found the clue she was looking for, dispelling Bellatrix' behavior quite effectively out of her mind. A clue about the Cataract and Agnes Waterhouse. She had looked up on the earliest history of Waterhouse again, where she was born and raised until she went to Hogwarts. Hermione was positively sure that she had to search there for clues about the Cataract. She pondered if she should tell McGonagall or Dumbledore, but decided against it. The poem may told her that she could take someone, but she had the feeling this would not count for teachers. After a brief confirmation, she had gathered enough information she believed she almost had an _evidence._

The poem probably didn't refer to Hogwarts as the „place of the beginning", but Agnes Waterhouse birthplace. Where everything truly, _literally_ started for her. The witch was born in Hatfield Peverel, a Village in the middle of Essex. She could hit herself for her own stupidity when she confirmed her assumptions in „Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy". The village was founded around 1066 by William Peverell, who apparently emerged from a lineage of purebloods that had gone extinct a long time ago. He was a Norman-knight, fighting for William the Conqueror who apparently gave him the land that today contained the village named after him.

The villages had been the first only-wizarding-village in Britain, but was by now mostly inhabited by muggles. Furthermore, it was founded about 500 years before the official day of Agnes official execution. _Strange coincidence. Very strange. And utmost exciting._

 _Right, Hermione. Seems like the fun is about to begin._

On the other hand, she had never been – like a certain pair of immature boys – someone to run in an unknown situation helter skelter. First, she needed to create a battle plan.

She decided to go – or more accurately apparate – to Hatfield Peverel on Saturday morning, after the Halloweenparty. Most of the students would be sleeping in their dorms, so it would not be suspicious for her to be gone for the whole day. On top of it, her roommates would probably be to hungover to even notice she wasn't there for a while. She realized it was kind of bad to count on her new friends heavy drinking habit, but it really came in handy this time. But even after she had calculated all of her possible steps until she would leave Hogwarts, she still was utterly nervous, positively more nervous than she would've been with her troublemaking friends. She felt like the famous Gryffindor courage mostly affected her with the boys around. She had never missed them as much as in the moment she decided when to leave the castle. Could she do it without them?

 _Neither of them would've been stopped by such thoughts._ Hermione scolded herself. _Just imagine how disappointed they would be if you would get cold feet right now. So pull yourself together for god's sake!_

Still. She couldn't shake that uncomfortable feeling in her stomach that grew the more the nearer Halloween came.

The problems of her everyday life were, luckily, a lot less severe but none the less distressing. Regardless of how how she felt towards Waterhouse, she still was to proud to feel forgiving towards Bellatrix and chose to ignore her letter completely as well as her presence in transfiguration, not looking in her direction at all. Sometimes she felt the eyes of the witch on her, but she refused to budge.

„You know, Black looks strange today. If I wouldn't know better I would say…plainly _unhappier_ than normal?" Hailey whispered to Dee and Hermione while they tried to transfigure some cats into mechanical clocks – A pretty conventional task for today, but Hermione was thankful for that. The only difficulty was to get the mechanism to work correctly. „Who knows? She rarely seems happy." Hermione said frowning, not wanting to feel pity for the bullying witch behind her.

Hailey eyed her for a second and opened her mouth to say something else, but in this moment, Professor McGonagall reached their table and looked at their work, only nodding before going to the next one.

„By the way, Hailey…" Hermione quickly said, eager to change the subject on the one hand but also actually being curious on the other. „What about your extra-work from Professor McGonagall? How is it going?" Since a few weeks ago, when Hailey got the extra work for her behaviour in class, Hermione had neither heard nor seen the girl working on that task.

„Oh, it's almost done." She said cheerfully, while giving her clock a soft nudge with her wand, which immediately startet ticking. She nodded satisfied. „I think I'll be ready next week. The paperwork is the worst, really." She checked her clock and began to grin. "Ah, almost time it seems!"

After that, the hand of Hailey's cuckoo-clock reached 12, a part on top would open and the small bird appeard in front of them. Hailey looked at it in mild anticipation.

Shortly after, the bird happily started to meow loudly.

„Aw, for fucks sake!" Hailey cursed, going back to her work.

* * *

On Tuesday evening, Hermione thought, she could probably not hold this behavior any longer. Her bad conscience finally won over the immature wish to ignore the witch further. The trigger had come at evening.

They newly-formed Ravenclaw-Trio – _kind of a weird feeling to think of us like that_ – ate dinner at the great hall, Dee only turned up a few minutes ago from her divination class. She looked a little flustered and didn't even let them say hello before she started to talk.

„You know, today the most curious thing happened."

„Well?" Hailey asked, poking around in her vegetables.

"Hysteros had explained to Bellatrix that, in her near future, she'd start to be „munter".

Hermione and Hailey stared wide eyed at the girl, thinking they had misheard what the third girl had said.

„ _Oh my god_!" Hailey almost screamed.

„Well, after that he said it was a mistake and he didn't mean it like that. He became beet red and Apologised repeatedly. Also, he said something that sounded like "Tudmirrleid"...but no clue there.

After Dee said that, Hailey started to have such a loud laughing fit, a lot of students turned around to look at them confused."

For fucks sake, Hailey!? Dee hissed.

Please..." Hailey said, tears in her eyes. Give me a moment, I think I'm dying. This is just the best situation I've ever heard of. He didn't mean she'd be ugly in her early twenties. Do you remember that he told us once that he lived in Germany for a few decades? I guess he mixed the languages there. Old, senile geezer and stuff, it happens. „Munter" in german would mean something like „happy". _Tut mir leid_ is only the german way to say sorry.

Hermione actually was too impressed to laugh as much as the situation admittedly demanded.

"You speak german, Hailey?"

"Uh, only a little...I know someone who taught me a little, nothing special. But how about Hysteros? Is he still alive?"

„That's the thing... She didn't do anything."

„ _What_?! Come on, you can't be serious."

„I am serious. Nobody understood, believe me. But she only looked at him, nodded, and continued staring into her crystal ball again. I tell you, something isn't right."

„My heart is bleeding, really." Hailey said drily. "Let me laugh another hour about this, maybe I can find some pity for the poor girl afterwards. Dee only shrugged at that and finally started to eat dinner.

* * *

So, when Hermione sat in the library with the others preparing themselves for their Astronomy-class, she argued with herself. The witch had acted like a bitch, but obviously felt bad about it later. And she wanted to talk, probably explain her demeanor, but Hermione didn't let her. _Be fair, be the mature one._ Hermione sighed when she cleaned up her working place, shouldered her bag and made her way to the quire room.

She wasn't even sure if Bellatrix would be here today. ‚Maybe she changed her schedule so you won't bother her anymore. Was a thought entering Hermione's mind. She firmly shook her head after that. _I'm not supposed to be anxious, I'm supposed to be angry!_ She told herself before entering the room quietly.

Even if she believed to be quiet, a second after she opened the door, the fluid sound of a piano melody stopped and she came eye to eye with a warily Bellatrix. „You came." She said, much like she did two weeks ago, when they primarily had shared that room. This time, though, it was tentative, Hermione believed to see a little relieve in her face between mostly worry, while she watched the brunette carefully. Hermione dropped her bag next to the door of the room, waking directly over to Bellatrix. When she stood in front of her, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking down on the girl on the piano stool.

„Explain."

Bellatrix gulped quietly, looking Hermione in the eyes. „We were pranking people who stayed in school, we waited for some latecomers or whoever." She bit her lip again. „But it was never meant to hit you! That's why I asked if–…" „…If I would be in Hogsmeade for the day, I gathered that much." Hermione said sharply, shutting Bellatrix up again. „And it was also obvious that you bullied people, that's not what I want to know. I want to know _why_ you did that."

Bellatrix looked at her dumbfounded „Um, well…" She looked over Hermione's shoulder, not ending the sentence. „..Because it was fun." She added after a while, sighing slightly.

„Charming."

„Well." Bellatrix huffed, crossing her arms in front of her stomach in a defensive gesture. „I am not the nicest person. I like to prank, to taunt, to _irritate_. My reputation should have told you that by now."

„Your reputation also sais that you're a pureblood-supremachist who only wants to see people like me suffer. And I'm not believing that either anymore."

Bellatrix looked at her again, tilting her head. „Is it helping that half of the guys we tricked were pure-bloods?"

„No!"

„Thought so…" Bellatrix mumbled. „I'm really sorry, Jean." Bellatrix said, sighing, closing her eyes. „I really wished we would not have gotten you into this. I promise we won't do something like that to you again. Goodbye, I guess." Hermione gathered that she probably wasn't really sorry about the whole affair, but only about getting found out.

She sighed loudly. „That's a pain, really. And why on earth did you say goodbye? Are you kicking me out now?"

„Uhm…I thought you would want to break up contact. Wouldn't blame you for it."

„You want me to?"

Bellatrix frowned. „Obviously not. Sometimes it feels like you're the only person in this bloody castle I can have a decent conversation with. You are like the sole person I would _not_ want to fuck with. But I guess I fucked up big time instead."

„Mh, wouldn't say that. It wasn't really vicious or anything, just rather tasteless." Hermione waved her hand. „I've had worse."

 _Good, Granger. One compliment from the bully and you're soft on her. Way to be strict.  
_  
„You're not leaving?"

Again a sigh. „No."

„So…" The dark witch said, eying Hermiones changing expressions carefully. „We're good?"

„No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know." She looked Bellatrix stern in the face. „I accept your apology. But I want you to know that I _don't_ approve what you're doing. But I am in no position to forbid you anything, you're a big girl." Bellatrix nodded but remained silent. „On the other hand, the next time, I won't let you let go so easily." She added, smiling a little. With that, she went to go to her bag.

Bellatrix let out a little relieved laugh. „Sounds good to me. Even if I don't think you could take all of us." „I never said I would do that." Hermione said, twirling around, Wand in her hand. _Levicorpus_.

A shriek from the dark witch when she was lifted in the air by an invisible force and hung headfirst two meters about the ground-level. „What the fuck, Gabor! Let me down!"

Hermione, who had learned the spell from Harry at the end of the year, just laughed heartily. She knew she probably should be angrier at the girl, break up contact or at least try to stop her from bullying harder. But right now, she just couldn't be mad anymore at the girl hanging in the air, cursing up a storm and looking just too hilarious. „I call it even, Black." _Liberacorpus_. With that, the highly confused and irritated girl fell back on the floor. Cursing, she stood up again.

„You may act all high and mighty Jean, but you also got a mean streak, no reason to deny it." Bellatrix said drily, while rubbing her shoulders and back.

„You might be right." Hermione said offhandedly. _You don't put a person in a jar for weeks and be an angel at the same time, I guess. Remembering the incident with Rita Skeeter at Bellatrix' words._

„More than you would think, probably."

„Who would have thought. Well, I deserved that at least." She mumbled, standing up again and dusting herself a little. „Even if Lucius deserved worse than me, I think."

„Oh he'll get his share, trust me." Hermione said nonchalantly. She squinted her eyes, pointed her finger in Bellatrix direction. „But _this_ one had priority, since I don't consider Lucius a friend."

That had Bellatrix dumbstruck for a moment. „You really think of me as a friend?"

Hermione frowned for the fracture of a second. _Do I really?_ She considered it for a moment. But in the end there was no way denying it. She enjoyed spending time with Bellatrix almost more than with Hailey and Dee, they had great conversations and were in a lot of ways very similar. Yes, she obviously considered the Bellatrix, at least how she was right now, somehow a friend. She just had to ignore what the girl would eventually become.

To Bellatrix, she just shrugged, who still stared at her with wide eyes. „Sure, why not? As long as you stop pranking me I really don't see why not. Even if it wasn't as much as fighting against a giant troll, what we've shared so far probably also belongs into the category „things you can't do without becoming friends."

„Fighting a troll? That's not a muggle figure of speech, right?"

„Hell, no, just something I got reminded of." She grinned after that. „So, still capable of playing the piano? I would like to listen to some music now."

„Coming right here." Bellatrix grinned back at her, starting to play. It was the first time Hermione saw her smile in a while.

* * *

A few days later, the only thing everyone seemed to talk about was the upcoming Halloween-party.

Dee was positively anticipated, she had told Hermione a lot about the last two parties they had attended. All the older students will get a note from the house organizing it after the official party was over. This year it ought to be Hufflepuff who had to host, what Hailey referred to as the „After-show party".

Last year it was us, let's see if they can overcome our work." Dee said happily, lost in memories. „Actually, Talos had been busy for days since he wants it to be perfect I guess. I think he wants to make a good impression on-„ before Dee could finish her sentence, Hailey –speak of the Devil, Hermione thought – and joined them on their breakfast.

Other than Dee, she wasn't anticipated. _Overwhelming excitement_ seemed to be more accurate in her case. „Halloween is, like, the most awesome event ever at this school! It's only sad nobody wants to dress up in the Wizarding-world. Everybody looked kind of surprised at me in our first year when I tried."  
„Surprised is the wrong word I would say. They looked at you like you'd lost it. To be honest, I thought so too." Dee said pointedly. „But it seemed like Dumbledore loved the Idea of strange clothing. He seemed rather intrigued, I think."

„Regardless, it'll be awesome. And it's only a few days away!"

Even Bellatrix had mentioned she was looking forward to it after their Arithmancy-lesson, when everybody else had already left the classroom.

„Well, basically it contains everyone getting drunk, making out and then pass out from getting drunk and making out." Bellatrix shrugged. „It's nice once in a while, you know? To just let go."

„It's not really for me, I guess." The brunette said pointedly, looking a last time through her Arithmancy-notes, but suddenly remembering the scene in the Owlery, which she and Bellatrix had never talked about again. _As if you need a pretext for that_. „It's something I happily cede to other people, thank you very much. I will probably go to bed after I drink two butterbeer or so."

„Mhh…you're pretty straight-laced, aren't you?" Bellatrix questioned with an arched eyebrow. An evil glare in her direction. „How good are the chances you will put on a costume, hm?" Bellatrix asked, with a mischievous grin.

„Close to zero."

„Aww, come on. You said it's part of your culture." The raven girl said playfully. Since Hermione had gotten to know her better and Bellatrix had become relatively sure the water-incident had been forgiven, almost at least, she had shown the brunette a more playful and cheekier side of her. She seemed to have a more dark and sarcastic sense of humor than before, but surprisingly Hermione found it refreshing. _She's sure I won't run away in an instant, she trusts me more since she knows I see her as a friend._ Hermione thought with a slight smile.

„Part of the _general_ muggle-culture. The last time I wore a costume was almost 10 years ago." _Or rather 40 years in the future._

„What did you wear?" The other witch asked curiously.

Hermione frowned. „Good question. I think it was from my favorite movie of that time…Robin hood, played by animals. After a questioning look, Hermione briefly explained the story to Bellatrix.

So, you went as Marian? Bellatrix finally asked.

„What? No, I went as Robin Hood, of course. He protected the weak, he was a hero to me, fighting against injustice." The brunette now remembered.

„Suits you, alright." Bellatrix said, rolling her eyes a little when the brunette didn't watch.

„Ah, here, by the way." Bellatrix said, dropping _the metamorphosis_ into her still open bag.

„You've already read it?"

„Twice, actually." Bellatrix confessed, while eying the book with a smile. „You don't happen to have some other books with you in Hogwarts?"

Hermione chuckled a little. „Sure I have…sorry." She said, still grinning at Bellatrix raised eyebrows." But it's still a little surreal to me sometimes and out of context, you know? Bellatrix Black, interested in muggle stories. Sometimes, I still have trouble believing it."

„Well…" Bellatrix said. „Actually, you also happen to be the only person to know."

She frowned, but had a playful glint in her eyes, when she pointed her finger to Hermione's chest.  
„Take it as a compliment."

And that Hermione did. Bellatrix. Playful, cheeky and smug Bellatrix. Conflicted and anxious Bellatrix. Musical and melancholic Bellatrix. _Right now, how many new shades of her have I discovered till now? And at least in one aspect, I know her better than anyone else, don't I?_ Hermione thought as she left the classroom behind Bellatrix, looking at how her tremendous mane of curls bounced with every step she did.

 _How well do I know her? How many other shades are there to discover?_

* * *

Finally, the anticipated day had come and the three Ravenclaw-Girls made her way down into the great hall. it was as beautifully decorated as Hermione remembered from her time, hundreds of illuminated pumpkins floating around the hall, creating a dim and slightly spooky atmosphere. Dumbledore had changed his general plain robes against a violet shimmering one which actually had some pumpkins sewn on it. The atmosphere was great, as was the food, the elves had again outdid themselves on the great menu. Even if it never stopped to irk Hermione, she mused it wouldn't be the best time to start a conversation about the rights of house-elves. Mostly, because it was one of the things she was best known for in the future. So she decided, for once, just to enjoy the evening.  
They laughed, they talked, and, at some point, a huge crowd of bats even emerged from the windows of the hall and performed some artistic trick, helped by Professor Flitwick, who wielded his wand like a conductor's baton. It looked absolutely lovely and Hermione cheered with the others, when Flitwick's bowed slightly at the end of his performance. After the show, the dessert was served. It were all kinds of cold soup, Hermione hadn't seen such a huge amount before, apparently all flavors and colours available. She settled for a reddish version which tasted deliciously of raspberry and plum.

„Oh, that's a nice one, really." Hailey said a few seconds later. „The perks of basically living next to the kitchen. Neat." She acknowledged, while eying her dessert closely.

Hermione looked at her own dessert now, which suddenly had small letters in it, that read:

 _22:30 o'clock. Whomping willow._

She was smart enough to understand this was about the After-show-Party, and, by know, she was probably equally excited like the other ones.

Soon after dessert, the party slowly came to an end. So the students went back to their dorm. The older students, of course, would go another way, in a short time. Glancing at the teachers-table Hermione saw how most of the teachers eyed the students. Hailey was right, they knew what would happen, but let it through for a night, they trusted them not to involve the younger students. When she looked at Cranes, one of the youngest teachers, he had a look on his face that came close to disappointment that he couldn't follow the students.

For good measure, the three girls went in direction of the Ravenclaw-tower, only to take another route back in the direction of the entrance-hall of Hogwarts 15 minutes later. Thankfully, but probably also intentional, no teacher was seen. They, along a few other students, slipped out of the castle and in the direction of the whomping willow.

After a short walk, they had reached their destination. In a safe distance to the dangerous tree, a some of the people already had gathered, chatting happily in the now dark night. They closed their distance to the steadily growing group of excited young students.

At 22:30 sharp, a figure emerged from the shadows and the students fell silent.

The figure was clothed in a black hood which covered it's face completely. He held a big, old fashioned lantern, which he lit with a tap of his wand. So they were able to see a few meters ahead. Some students had cast a *lumos before, but they quickly whispered *nox to shut them to not ruin the mood.

„How nice of you to come to our little… _gathering_." The voice of the person sounded hollow and creepy, it was clearly changed by magic. Some of the students shivered, weather of the cold weather or the atmosphere was difficult to say.

„Please follow me…the feast will start soon." He said in the same hollow, almost echoing voice.

So the group started to move, the first students a few meters behind the clothed figure, an excited whispering had started between the students.

After about 10 minutes, they reached their destination. And Hermione had to admit that she was positively impressed. They had gone to a small clearing within a light forest that would, in some distance, emerge into the forbidden forest. As it stood, this part of the school grounds was almost perfectly hidden from the castle and you could still overwatch a part of the lake from there. The decorations though, were what a lot of the students let in acknowledging gasps, even hearing one or two whistles. The Hufflepuffs had decorated the whole area of the clearing with candles, pumpkins and, as it seemed, had even convinced one or two ghosts to join their ranks, as one of the girls in the group let out a startled squeak when a translucent arm passed through her stomach and waved at her.  
The atmosphere was a little spooky, but they also heard some music emerge from the clearing, that was equipped with a lot of chairs and tables that were overloaded with snacks and booze. „I have to give the badgers that." Hailey said while walking past Hermione. „They know how to organise a party." With that, the evening could start truly.

It was again time for Hermione to wonder what happened between now and her own time, that the different houses wouldn't work together like that. This was incredible. She couldn't imagine one student from her time who wouldn't like an event like this. For that, even she was willing to overlook the rules for one night. _Well, I probably have no right to say anything at all, regarding what I plan to do tomorrow…_

It was obvious within the first half an hour, that the party was a huge success, and, for Hermione, pretty interesting, even if she enjoyed observing more than she did talking. For the first hour she sat with Hailey and Dee, but soon a lot of people demanded their attention, for some rounds of fire-whiskey-drinking. Hermione waved at them to show she wasn't interested and would enjoy the atmosphere for a little longer. Soon after they let her alone though, when she already argued with herself how long she would stay – it was really nice, but her adventure on the next day was way more important than this party – she was approached by another person.

„Hey, may I sit with you?"

Hermione turned to see Talos standing in front of her, two new butterbeer in his hands and grinning a little sheepishly. Hermione smiled at him. „Sure, why not? Thank you." She added, when he gave her the beer.

„So… How do you like the party?" He said after a few seconds and a sip from his drink.

„Honestly? I think it's great. You guys really put a lot of effort into it."

Talos smiled at that compliment. They then fell into a comfortable smalltalk, which a surprised Hermione admitted she liked plenty. For the longest time she thought Talos couldn't stand her, but it seemed he only needed to warm a little up to her.

„You know, I actually wanted to ask you something." Talos said at one point, after a longer discussion about the las Quidditch-games, now looking a little fidgeting. He looked Hermione in the eyes. „Would it be okay if-„

„Wotcha Dawson, what are you doing there!? Come over, we need your help with the lights over here!" One of the other Hufflepuffs shouted.

„There in a minute, Tonks!" He called in his direction. When he turned around, he looked at Hermione again and frowned. „You okay?"

This shook Hermione out of the daze that she just saw Edward Tonks, Andromeda's future husband and her friends future Dad. It only made sense that she would meet him here, or rather Andromeda would, but it was still a startling experience. She had never seen him before, but he at least resembled his daughter a little in looks, but obviously a great deal in personality.

She shortly closed her eyes to focus again, bevor she looked at Talos again. „Yeah, I'm good. I was planning to go soon anyway, so I think this is a good opportunity. Good luck with the rest of the evening and thank you for the lovely chat." She said while standing up.

He shortly looked at her as if he wanted to say something else, but then just smiled and nodded. „Yeah, thank you as well. Good night."

Even if Hermione had never been in this particular place on the grounds, she could see the castle from here and would have no problem to find her way back quickly. It was way later than she had anticipated she would stay and so she was eager to go to bed to be ready for the next morning.

She had only walked half the way to the castle, when a sobbing voice came in her direction. Quickly, she decided to hide behind a tree to not encounter whoever was coming her way. Luckily without seeing her, a girl with long, blonde hair ran along the path. Hermione had just decided that it was safe to leave her hideout to hurry back to the castle, when she heard steps again, rather quiet steps. She actually only heard them when it was to late and she stood face to face to a girl with black curls and Slytherin robes.

Both witches looked at each other with mouth agape.

„ _Dammit_ Jean, I'm almost thinking you're really spying on me."

Hermione blanched, then her cheeks quickly colored in a deep red. „Of course not!" she hissed, mortified at how she had gotten in that situation again. „I just wanted to go back to the castle! Why does this has to bloody happen all the time?! I swear, I wasn't spying!"

Bellatrix grinned. „Relax, I know. I also knew the last time. Your face just was too hilarious."

Hermione pouted, still pretty embarrassed about the whole affair. „Uhm...well, I…you'll probably go after her?" She said unsure, not knowing what was going on between those two, but didn't dare to ask either, even if she had to admit she was a little curious.

„Hell, no." Bellatrix said wearily, looking fairly relaxed considering the situation she had been in a few seconds ago.

„Oh..uhm..okay. „Hermione really didn't know what to say. „Then… I think I will leave-„

„Oh, _come_ on! I can feel the curiosity almost _evaporating_ from you." Bellatrix sighed, rolling her eyes at the brunette. „Come along for a moment." And before the brunette could protest, the Slytherin had grabbed her by her forearm and dragged her to a nearby spot, hidden behind a large stone. Bellatrix sat down and leaned against its cold and rough surface. After Hermione had done the same, she spoke again. „I wouldn't mind telling you." She said. „Hell, you've run twice into us, everybody would be curious."

Hermione shifted uncomfortably. „I don't want to interfere in your privacy."

The other girl let out a hearty laugh at that. „That didn't work out since we got to know each other." Glance in Hermione's direction. „I don't mind, really." She said with a calmer voice. And, after a few seconds: „We're friends, after all."

„Hm…so, she's not your girlfriend, I guess?" Hermione questioned tentatively. They didn't really give off that vibe.

„Hell no." Bellatrix said again and laughed. „She isn't and she never was. Also, I don't want her to be."

„Not your type?" The brunette said half-jokingly, she didn't know how far she could go with her questions, but this was absolutely fascinating. _Bellatrix Black is telling me about her love life. I wonder what the boys would say to that…but of course even if the complete order begs me to tell them about now, I wouldn't answer them..._

Bellatrix shrugged. „I can't really pinpoint my _type_ or something. I guess she's pretty, but whatever… The though of her being my girlfriend never occurred to me. Occasionally during the year, some people will start approaching me, telling me they have feelings for me, or want a little fun, whatever. I've never felt more than amusement in such encounters, so sometimes I go with it, sometimes I don't. And I _never_ make promised or something. This time I did go through with it, since every time they will eventually realise I'm _not_ who they thought I'd be." She laughed. „I don't know what kind of fetish they want to see in me, but after a short while they start avoiding me. I never mind, though."

Hermione didn't really know how to react to the lifestyle the dark haired with so open and happily talked about in front of her. So she decided to just let it go. And hoped Bellatrix wouldn't see the faint blush on Hermione's cheeks. _Am I really that prude?_

„So…didn't work this time?" Was what Hermione decided to say, hopefully sounding casually.

„Nah, didn't seem so. She got kind of annoying to be honest, so I told her off. She was pestering me around regardless. I tried to avoid another argument, so I wanted to come a little later to the party… but as you see, she waited for me. So I told her, one last time, to stop bothering me. A lot less friendly than the last time. _This_ time, it went trough, I think."

„Poor girl." Hermione said with an arched eyebrow, now pitying the girl.

„Not really. From what I saw, it was only hurt pride."

„You think so? She looked pretty hurt."

„Well, what should I do? I told her nothing but the truth."

Hermione half nodded, half shrugged at that. They sat in silence after that, Hermione taking in what she just had heard. A last question lingered on her mind, though, that made her so curious it couldn't wait. And she didn't know when she had the next chance to ask the witch something so personal again.

„So… does that mean you're... that you like girls?" She asked then, meeting Bellatrix gaze again.

„Not that I mind." Hermione added quickly. „I was just curious, I guess."

Bellatrix grinned. „No problem. Well, I don't know. Certainly don't hate them" She said, pursing her lips in thought. „I've also been approached by guys, but in the end it was all the same to me. It was fun, but I never felt anything beyond that. So I can't really tell you."

„I... understand."

Bellatrix shrugged, then smirked at her. „Well, you could share now as well."

„What exactly?"

„I don't know. If you have a boyfriend for example?"

„Well…, not really."

„A girlfriend then?"

She blushed slightly. „Also, no."

„Have any experience regarding that?" Bellatrix questioned, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously.

„Well, no. But I never was interested in that, as far as I know. To admit, not in too many boys, either" She said to be honest in that point. There had ever only been Viktor… and well, Ron. Even if she would never admit that out loud.

„Maybe you just haven't met the right girl, then."

„Maybe I-..what?"

Bellatrix had a sly grin on her face and moved closer to Hermione. „Wanna try?"

Hermione looked at her with mouth agape, eyes wide, at a loss for words again. „I..I-„

Bellatrix grinned. „Just kidding. It's just too easy with you" She said lightly, laughing heartily when she got a punch to her shoulder from Hermione.

„ _Very_ funny, Bella…" She said flustered, her face beet-red.

„Haha, come on, don't be such a buzzkill. I didn't do anything."

Hermione pouted. „You're truly mean."

The Slytherin only shrugged. „If you say so. On a completely other matter, do you still have some of those chocolate-bars? –Thanks!" She said when Hermione threw one in her direction –maybe a little harder than necessary. „And one last thing, she said while taking the first bite of the bar. „Stay with „Bella". She said with a smile. „I like that better."

With that, Hermione threw another at Bella, but now gently into her lap. It was another book Hermione had picked for her. Bellatrix looked at the title.

„ _Pride and prejudice_?"

Hermione smiled. It's a mix of a love story and the criticism of that times society. It's a little sappy, but I liked it a lot. And I found the title just so appropriate for our situation." Bellatrix smiled gratefully at her.

Shortly after, they said good night to each other, Bellatrix in the direction of the party, Hermione to the castle. Miraculously, she encountered no teacher on her way to the tower. She decided, that somehow, in some aspects, this Hogwarts was way nicer than that in her time.

* * *

So, that's it for today (don't hate me for minor mistakes, dead tired right now and trying to figure out how to organise my moving. Slightly slutty Bella…well. I'd imagine her to be so, so don't hate me :D Also, who thought they'd kiss at that point? We have a long way to go until there. Still, leave a review if you'd like to share your opinion with me, it's always appreciated :); I also hope that "Munter"-joke made any sense, I found it to be an english curse-word, I just don't know how widespread the knowledge about that is :D (I at least didn't know it before)

MilandaAnza: Thank you for the compliment :) Well, I'd love to tell you if you guessed correctly…but well, I won't :D We'll see in the following chapters. (On a general note, I'm happy that ya'all like the Waterhouse-theme that much :) Really happy you guys appreciate it, since it will become a huge part of this fanfic!)

KSR: I can so much relate to what you wrote that I'd like to write an essay-like answer, to be honest :D As much as I love everything from N. Blackmann, I don't think it's my kind of story-writing. It can't be all love and peace all the time of course, that'd be boring, but let's just say, there's a reason the description says „Romance/Humor" and not Hurt/Comfort/Drama. Maybe I can ease your mind with that :D On the other point: I know what you mean about the general Bellamione-time-travel-stories. There are a lot of good ones out there, but also it's often kind of the same. That point almost let me reconsider the fanfic I wanted to write. And of course, that subject has to be adressed at some point, but let's just say, I don't plan to write something that's already there. But everything else would be a spoiler, I guess ;)

kiarcheo: Thank you :) And yeah, I see what you mean. But I always found quick developments in fanfics rather boring, so I can promise that one will take a while :D And you found Hermione's reaction „perfect"? :3 Aww, you flatter me!

violette1512: „brilliant"…:D you have no idea how good that sounds to rookie-me :D Thanks a lot! GR: Wow..I'm honored :D I really have no clue how I should react now. Thanks for being so considerate :)

Icarus: To be honest, I always thought that it's absoluetly illogical how neither of the purebloods –except for the ones who were exiled – ever questioned even a little what they were thought. And since Bellatrix was considered the brightest witch of her age, she should've been the most conflicted about it…or so^^ Thanks for your compliment!


	12. Chapter 12

Okay, I am terribly sorry! I know it's a lot later than what I promised, but it was absolutely stressful the last days, not to mention I got ill.. .well, thanks to my awesome friends who helped me, it all went rather well! Now, the next chapter, finally. Believe me again this time, I am nervous and excited, since we have a huuuge plot development! (Also, the story cracked 200 followers. Wow. You have now idea how proud that made me :) You guys are awesome as always!) By the way, sometimes, the doc manager is messing with my editing. So if there's the occasional odd paragraph, it wasn't necessarily my fault! :D)  
But now, have fun! (And my music quote is on point, I won't argue there)

* * *

Chapter 12: Home, sweet home

A devil is rising  
A shadow from the past  
Feeding the flames with fire On the edge of fury

All the time running in and out of time  
Hear the ticking on the countdown clocks tonight  
Go we need some, go we need some Action!  
If we gonna make it like a true survivor

David Hasslehoff, True Survivor

* * *

Hermione had been clever enough to take a weak sleeping draught before going to bed that night, knowing just too good she wouldn't be able to sleep at all if she tried without. So she conveniently had a decent night sleep and woke early enough around dawn to get her plan to start. While getting ready as quietly as possible she found Hailey and Dee asleep soundly and both luckily looked like they wouldn't wake up soon anyway. Hailey _actually_ looked like she had different cloth on, or, what Hermione assumed, transfigured her old ones. It seemed like she had decided on a costume in the end, since she impersonated a giant badger. Hermione had to suppress a giant laughing-fit at this sight. She just hoped somebody had made a good picture of this.

Shaking her head, she focused again. _Double check your bag. The notebook, the wand, everything else._ When she had confirmed that everything was where she needed it, she took a deep breath and opened the door to the common room, which was luckily quiet and empty as suspected. So it was thankfully unproblematic to leave the tower and on the fastest way possible to the entrance-doors and out of the castle.

She let out a relieved exhale when the exit of the castle came in sight, now it was almost safe. It would take about 15 minutes to walk to a point where she would be able to apparate, so she opened the oak door as quietly as possible, and only as far as she could barely squeeze through. She was aware that this was probably overdoing it, but still. _Better safe than sorry._ Then, carefully closed the door behind her again and turned around to start her task. No, maybe _quest_ would be the right word. Well, whatever. right now, everything went according to plan. Great.

 _BANG._

The second she turned around wasn't enough to avoid colliding with the person in front of her, who apparently hadn't seen her either. This resulted in both of them landing on the ground. Cursing under her breath, Hermione looked up to see a certain startled Slytherin that held her head while sporting a painful expression on her face.

„Ow, what the hell?"

 _Really, my life is just some shitty novel. Why, out of all the people I could run into, does it have to be her right now? It feel's like she's the only person I occasionally run into._

When Bellatrix looked up, she had a surprised expression on her face. _Really, at this point she shouldn't be surprised anymore._

„Jean? What are you doing here?"

„I could ask you the same question." Hermione muttered, avoiding the matter at hand.

„Well, I wanted to go out, reading." Bellatrix said, lifting up Hermione's copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' she had given the other girl the day before. „I just decided the place wasn't comfortable enough so I wanted to change location."

„You're not tired from yesterday? You were just coming when I went back?"

Bellatrix shuffled, somehow uncomfortable. „I…don't tend to sleep much. And I didn't exactly drank myself into a coma like most other students. I have no clue what ‚Loud' had going on at some point, but she looked like she wouldn't get up too soon today."

„ _Loud_ "?

„Oh, I mean that one obnoxious friend of yours, I think her name is Ashmore. Doesn't fit as good, though."

Hermione frowned. She couldn't deny Bellatrix had a point there, but that didn't mean it was okay to refer to Hailey in that way.

Recognizing Hermiones face, Bellatrix merely shrugged before she bent over to get something from the floor.

„Sorry, I think you dropped that because of me."

Hermione's gaze followed Bellatrix stretched out arm that wanted to grab an item that had fallen out of Hermione's bag.

 _SHIT!_

 _„Don't touch that!"_ Hermione almost screamed.

Bellas Hand stopped centimeters in front of the notebook. She withdrew her hand slowly, giving Hermione a queer look. „What the hell, Jean?"

„Uh..mh, you see-„

„Okay, whatever generic crap-excuse you're trying to think of right now, I won't buy it, trust me." Bella crossed her arms before her chest, arching an eyebrow at her. „Spill it out, Gabor, you said we're friends. So don't start lying to me."

 _It's a bit too late for that, isn't it? I think this is the definition to be caught between a rock and a hard place_ , Hermione mused with a stricken expression on her face. She quickly need to think how she could get out of this situation.

But did she want to?

 _You could have just let her touch the book. The magic would have managed everything for you._

„Why did I stop you?" Hermione wondered out loud.

„Excuse me?" Bella said confused. She obviously started to get a little annoyed.

Why, indeed. Was it a reflex? Or did Hermione secretly wanted to share this particular one of her secrets with someone? Hermione had come to like the girl, no need to deny that. And there was nobody else she felt comfortable with talking about the Waterhouse-problem.

She made a decision.

„Okay, you win." Hermione hissed when she picked up the book. „Follow me."

A mix of smugness for getting her way together with curiosity was edged on Bellatrix' face when Hermione led her away from the castle to a place they both knew, the Pavillon.

Hermione put the book on a bench next to her, slipped out of her gloves and gave them to Bellatrix.

„Put them on."

Bellatrix frowned but obliged without a further word. When she pulled the gloves over her slender hands, she flexed them a few times, recognizing the magic in them. After she did that she looked expectantly at Hermione.

„Now pick the book up. I can't do it without the charmed gloves." Now truly curious and excited, Bellatrix carefully took the tome in her hand and regarded it a short moment before opening it.

She slowly flipped through the pages, frowning when she couldn't find text on the further pages. Lastly, she stopped on the first site, reading the poem Hermione now knew by heart. Her eyes widened considerably.

„Merlin, is this…"

„Yes, it is." „Where did you find it? And when?!"

„At the library." Hermione said truthfully. „It was in one of the boxes behind the restricted section. Whenever someone touched it, they would be charmed to forget it's existence. I only got lucky I had a protection charm on myself at the moment I found it. Also, I only found it a few weeks ago, later that day you found me in the chamber next to the quire room, actually." Hermione smiled a little at this memory.

Bella was grabbing the back of her head, still comprehending what she just had learned. „But why did you look for it in the first place?"

Hermione shrugged. „Rumor sounded interesting. Also, had nothing better to do." _There, almost the truth._

Bellatrix nodded, Hermione wasn't sure if she was buying this or not, though.

„And…what's your plan right now?"

„I'm going to follow the riddle's instructions of course. Actually, I was leaving right now."

Bellatrix stared at her wide eyed, then changed her gaze and looked to the side. Hermione couldn't read her face due to the mass of curls on her head.

„This is longly planned, right? You chose this day because most of the school would sleep in long minimizing the risk that you would be found out. Yesterday, you didn't leave because you were bored, but because of …calculation, right?" She sounded moderately impressed by that.

„Obviously." Hermione couldn't help but to sound a little proud while saying that.

„So, where are we going?"

„Well, according to the riddle – actually, could you repeat that, please?"

Bellatrix looked at her again, her expression had changed completely. Her eyes were shimmering and she had a grin on her face that was so broad Hermione could almost see every last one of her teeth. She almost looked a little fanatic to the Now-Ravenclaw.

„I said‚ _where are we going_?"

Hermione was stunned. „Look, Bella-„

„No, not a chance you can take this from me right now! I _will_ go with you. The poem said it was okay, right? You don't have to do that alone. I could be helping, you know?"

„I _know_ that, but…"

„Also…" Bellatrix said with a smug grin on her face. „ If I call out for a teacher right now, do you really think you'll be allowed to go?"

„You wouldn't do that."

„Wanna try me? I'm pretty selfish. You could also just take me along. Sounds easier."

Hermione gritted her teeth. Bellatrix grinned at her, she knew she had won.

„So very Slytherin of you." Hermione muttered. After a pause, then. „Fine."

Bellatrix grin became even more unbearable, but Hermione saw the joy that was hiding behind the haughty appearance. The brunette only rolled her eyes.

„Awesome! I have my wand with me, so no need to go back. Tell me the rest on the way to the gates, I guess we're apparating?"

Hermione sighed and smiled a little. Maybe this really wasn't the worst Idea ever. Bellatrix was right, the poem explicitly said she could take someone else, as long as the person proofed worthy, it was alright. But would Bellatrix proof worthy? And, would she, herself, proof worthy?

It was time for an adventure, it seemed.

And as she told Bellatrix everything she had found out about Waterhouse and the Cataract, she had to admit, she was fairly happy she didn't have to do this task alone. On top of that, Bellatrix really was an excellent witch. In the end, it would just increase her chances to actually manage the whole affair.

„And you researched all of that on your own, didn't you? In a few weeks. Also made up a plan to act on it?" Bellatrix said after a few moments, an incredulous look on her face. „Next to everything else you're doing to excel your classes?"

„I guess so."

Bellatrix crooked her head, considering Hermione for a while. „That's impressive."

The other girl blushed a little at the compliment. „Well, thanks."

Bellatrix grinned now. „No need to be smug about that, though."

„Yeah yeah." Hermione rolled her eyes again, standing up to leave the place.

„You would know about that."

Soon they reached the gates and were ready to apparate, so they stopped again and sat down behind a tree, shielded from – admittedly unlikely – visitors. Hermione told Bellatrix that she planned to apparate a little away from the now muggle-inhabited village to not accidentally let them see their magic. In contrast to the hyped reaction Hermione anticipated, Bellatrix only nodded, apparently a lot less excited then just a few minutes ago. Next to the determination in her face that told Hermione this wasn't about getting cold feet about the whole affair in general, she even seemed a little timid. Very strange, something seemed to bother her now. _There, she's chewing her lip again, there's definitely something bothering her._ And Hermione could only think of one reason.

„This will be the first time to actually see Muggles, right?"

Bellatrix sighted. „Yes…it will. I really don't know what to expect from it, to be honest." She quickly added. „But don't you think I'll back off because of that! It..it's just a little strange for me, okay?"

Hermione could almost feel how nervous the other witch had become and squeezed her shoulder, smiling sympathetically at her. „It will be okay. There will be no problems. And I'm with you."

A smile back. _And what a pretty one._ „I know, Jean. Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."

Hermione nodded and started to concentrate. They stood up and Bellatrix grabbed her forearm, since only Hermione knew the exact location, they had to side-to-side-apparate. She'd only rarely done it, but was confident she could manage. She turned on the spot and the familiar unpleasant feeling in her intestines took over. The feeling of being pressed through a tube vanished after a short time and they found each other in a light forest, a sign showed that the town they were searching for. _Hatfield Peverel, 1 mile._

Bellatrix loosened the grip on Hermione's arm until it was only loosely connected. The witch looked pretty excited again and not in the least bothered that she had just broken a thousand school rules in the spur of a moment, on a probably dangerous mission she just only heard about. _Talk about being careless_.

Then, another thing came to her mind.

„Damn, I forgot! We still have to transfigure our clothes." She grabbed Bellatrix by her forearm and guided them behind a large group of trees. As soon as she was sure nobody was watching them, she started to change her cloak into a beige coat and dark brown trousers, not drawing attention being the first priority. After that, Bellatrix, who had observed the transfiguration, cleared her throat.

„Could you help me with that? I wouldn't really know what I should transfigure it into…"

„Oh, yeah, right."

Hermione pursed her lips while thinking about an outfit for Bellatrix and then decided to go with something similar to hers, only to make them pitch black and with a hood so Bella could hide her mass of black curls that would catch attention however she dressed anyway. Bellatrix looked her appearance up for a moment and nodded satisfied „Neat. So, what we do next?"

Hermione opened her bag and pulled out a map from the small village she had managed to find in the road- and city atlas she found in the library. ( _She had been surprised Hogwarts owned something like that, but apparently Dumbledore had ordered them in his first years of being the headmaster. Something about „knowing your directions is important!", patting his knee and walking off" a non-amused Madame Pince had informed Hermione about why they owned a complete set of street-atlases for Europe._ ) She had marked several spots on the map she'd copied and showed it to Bellatrix right now.

„I couldn't find the exact location of Waterhouses' childhood home, obviously, but it is highly possible it is in…" - she moved her finger to the middle-area of the map - „…here."

Bellatrix studied the map for a while, then asked: „Why do you think that?"

„Even if it's not much, the town has grown since the Middle Ages, so we should look in the historical center first. I think there has to be a museum or a city-guide we can check for."

Bellatrix nodded, not taking her eyes from the map in front of her for another few seconds. When she was finished, she looked Hermione in the eyes.

„Let's go."

Slowly, they follow the small road in the direction of the small village, no one crossed their way despite two transporters which Bella eyed fascinated, even if she tried to hide it in front of Hermione.

The village roughly had 4.000 inhabitants, so it was no wonder they almost didn't see anyone on their way. Still, they were on guard, since they were searching for something magic-related.  
When they finally passed the first houses, there still were only a little amount of people on their way, and since the weather was rather rainy and windy, everybody moved rather quickly to get to their houses and workplaces. Hermione checked the map again.

„Say, did you have breakfast yet?"

„No, why?

„There's a Café about 5 minutes from here, how about we start with eating there?"- she showed it on the map – „I think it's roughly in the area we're searching for and maybe we can ask somebody there to get some clues?"

„Sounds good to me."

They didn't encounter many people on their way, but, whenever they did, Bellatrix adapted the strange habit of eying them suspiciously, sometimes even staring at something that seemed strange to her. When an older women accidentally bumped into her, she jumped back and hissed at the confused women who squeaked _sorry_ and hurried away from them.

„Could you act a little more natural, maybe? They're still humans. They won't attack you or anything."

„Yeah yeah, I know that." Bellatrix murmured and sent her a dark gaze.

Luckily, they soon found the Café Hermione mentioned and took a seat inside. It was warm and cozy in the small shop, where, for the moment, Bellatrix, herself and an Old Lady with fluffy grey hair and a flower-apron where the only attendants. Said Lady smiled friendly at them when she gave them the menus. Hermione ordered two Coffees in advance before they sat down on a table in the back of the Café.

Bellatrix eyed the steaming brown liquid suspiciously. „So this is coffee, yes?" She took a sniff at the cup.

„Yes, since we'll need a lot of energy for today it will do us good, even if I'm not a coffee-fan in general. It's a little too bitter for my taste without sugar."

She took a sip from her now sweetened drink and felt the hot liquid go down her body, heating her up from the inside. She sighed contently.

Bellatrix seemingly wanted to try her Coffee without Sugar first and took a tentative, small sip from the cup. Her eyes became wide, it seemed this was another Muggle-Invention to Bellatrix' liking. She tried a sip from Hermione's cup but decided Coffee without sugar was more to her liking.  
They ordered their breakfast – Hermione with an orange-juice, Bellatrix with another cup of Coffee – and started to discuss whispering how they would go on from now. Hermione considered the map again.

„Okay, If we go a little to the north, their seems to be some kind of post office - really, this village is too small to have a history museum or anything."

„How about a bookstore with more ancient maps of the town, you didn't find anything in Hogwarts, right?"

„No, the library didn't have anything like that, sadly. But that might be a good Idea, we could check there for example…"

The discussion went on for a little while, but they quickly shut up when she saw the elderly woman bring them their plates.

They thanked her and, expecting her to leave, turned to their toasts and scones, but the woman was still standing there.

„Uh, should we pay right away?" Hermione asked a little confused.

She smiled kindly. „It's okay dear, pay when you leave. But I only accept pounds, Galleons and Sickles don't do much in this village anymore."

They stared at the woman with big eyes, she laughed at that.

„Come on, children, I may be old, but I still hear good enough to hear you talk about „Hogwarts", it's no place you forget so easily."

„Uhm…"

„My name would be Annabel Midgeon, nice to meet you girls. What is it that brings two lovely young ladies like you in this town, still students, I suppose?

„Eh, yes, nice to meet you." Hermione quickly said. Maybe this was working in their advance. „We're in our final year at Hogwarts and have to do an exam for history-class. We're searching for the childhood home of Agnes Waterhouse. Do you happen to know something about that? We could find out that it should be somewhere in this town."

Agnes Waterhouse?" Mrs. Midgeon pursed her lips and tipped against her chin with her forefinger, thinking. „I didn't know it was in this old town, to be honest, it was that legendary witch that could not be placed in one of the houses, wasn't it? I always thought she was only a myth, to be honest. "

„Well, we're actually debating exactly that in our class." Bellatrix sprung in. Hermione was amazed how she just went by with her own made-up story, not even flinching a little at it.

„I remember Professor Binns classes to be a lot more boring, though." She said, and, for a second, looking suspicious at both of the girls. „He really assigned you to find that mysterious place? Outside of Hogwarts?"

Hermione shrugged. „Well, the practical part was our own idea, we asked the Professors for permission to do a little empirical research on our own… Also, we happen to be the first people to take the N.E. -classes since ever, I guess. Nobody would know how he handles those. And since we're both of age, he agreed."

Hermione crossed her fingers the women wouldn't want to see a written permission or something, that way they would be screwed now. But the Mrs. Midgeon only let out a hearty laugh. „Yes, good point there. I mostly would sleep during Binns' classes, didn't really caught my attention ever."

She rubbed her chin again, obviously thinking intensely. Then, finally, her eyes widened.

„Ah, yes! I think I can help you a little with your research. As you know, today this city is mostly occupied by muggles, so there is almost no flow of magic, like you have it in Hogsmeade for example. But there is still one place in this city where you can feel traces of magic, old magic. It's nothing you would recognise by walking by once or twice, but if you live here for years like me…you start to notice the little things."

She gestured towards Hermione to hand her the city-map, which she quickly obliged to.

„Look, here, you already are near the historical center of the city, so it's pretty near. It's only a few minutes from here, actually. Maybe that's not what you actually are looking for, but it's the only place I can think of right now, maybe it's at least a start for your research?"

Hermione and Bellatrix looked at each other. Then, Bellatrix shrugged. _It's worth a try, I guess._

„That is very helpful from you, thank you very much." Hermione said sincerely.

„Oh, it's my pleasure dear, but eat up first, I guess your day is gonna be tiring. It's history of magic, after all." With a last laugh, she vanished again in the front part of the small shop.

„Well" Bellatrix said, munching on her toast and sipping her coffee. „Maybe that's going to be easier than you thought."

Hermione sighed. „Would be nice, but I doubt it."

„Seriously, would be a shame if this went to smooth, a little action isn't to much to ask for."

„What did you say?"

„Oh, nothing."

They followed the directions Mrs. Midgeons had shown to them and it didn't take long until they reached a rather shady looking part of the village. Newer houses aligned with older ones, every single one of them in dire need of a renovation, though.

Bellatrix touched the facade of one of the buildings and took a look around. „Some of them look really old, don't you think? Like, a few hundred years. They almost could be-„

„-wizarding architecture, yes." Hermione ended Bellatrix sentence for her, nodding. „I think we're close. Look for buildings with strong magical tension, or if a muggle happens to pass by, look if he behaves strange around some places."

„Yes, sure."

„Oh, and Bella?"

„Yeah?" The Slytherin looked at the brunette.

„Try not to behave too strange yourself, alright?" Hermione said, grinning at her.

Bella stuck out her tongue in a very mature way.

They looked around for a while. This part of the village measured roughly one or two square kilometers, so it was manageable to examine it throughly.

They decided on checking every house directly, sometimes together, sometimes, when they thought they would see something interesting, they parted for a short time.

They could work quite efficiently together it seemed, when they were not in the middle of competing against each other.

They were searching for about an hour, without any noticeable progress though.

Until Hermione heard Bella calling her.

„Jean, come over for a moment."

Hermione hurried in Bella's direction who was roughly 50 meters away, eying one exceptionally run down house 10 meters away from her. It seemed to belong to the oldest of them, but Hermione hadn't paid it much attention before.

„Did you find anything?"

„I'm not sure, but I think this is strange somehow…" „What do you mean?"

Bella had started to behave strangely now, in Hermione's opinion. She gestured towards the house in front of them, but showed in another direction. „Did you pay attention to that house yet?"

Hermione frowned. „No, I don't think so. You think we should?…" She started to turn towards the house. Bella grabbed her arm though, before she could move an inch.

„Wait! No, don't look at it or touch it. Don't you think it's _strange_ we didn't pay it any attention yet? It doesn't matter how you look at it, it is clearly one of the oldest houses here, it doesn't make sense we didn't investigate there. It's actually a part we already have checked all the other houses. You know what I mean?"

Hermione was in the process of telling her she had no clue what she meant when it finally clicked. Why didn't she think about that earlier? „You mean it's the same like with the book, right? We are _meant_ not to notice."

„Exactly. We probably have already looked at it and got charmed. How stupid."

Hermione was impressed. It was what finally convinced her it was a good thing to take the witch along. _Okay, focus now._

„Protection charms?"

„Protection charms."

They casted the charms over each other until they were satisfied with their work, nodding to each other. They stepped closer to the small, decayed house and immediately felt it. The prickle of magic around them, trying to get through their defenses. But since they properly charmed themselves they were able to get through it without further incidences. Wands drawn, they carefully moved forwards, trying to make out something in the surprisingly dark rooms of the house. It didn't look better from the inside than from the outside, contrary even. Dust and spiderwebs everywhere, uncannily rotten and broken furniture was scattered around the room they entered. The large oven on one side indicated it was the kitchen.

„We should check the other rooms." Bella drew the logical conclusion and moved along one of the walls towards one of the doors that led out of the kitchen. „But let's split, it doesn't make sense to go together right now. Just call if you find anything, I'll do the same."

„That's how horror movies start, though." Hermione muttered.

„Horror movies?"

„Never mind, I'll explain that later. But take care, okay?"

„Not the first time breaking into a house, relax Jean."

„Sure."

They parted, Bella entered the door to the right, Hermione taking the other one opposite of the entrance door. She came to a room that seemed to be the living room in the past. The furniture was in equally bad condition like in the kitchen, so she couldn't say anything safe about the interior design. She checked the room but couldn't find anything special in it either.

„Hey, found anything?"

„Waaah!"

Hermione jumped and turned around to look at Bellatrix who stood right behind her. She raised her eyebrows.

„Jesus Christ, don't scare me like that!"

I'm sorry, I didn't intend to, whoever this Jesus-guy might be." Bellatrix said, and started to grin a little. „Not my fault you're such a scaredy cat."

Hermione shortly pondered to stick out her tongue as well, but decided to ignore the comment.

„Anyway, did you find anything?" „Not much. There's a staircase that leads to the upper floor, but I thought I would check on you before I go there. Anything interesting here?"

Hermione sighed. „No, I'll just go with you. Maybe we've more luck there. Otherwise we really need to search every inch in here for a sign. How frustrating."

Hermione followed Bella in the only room on this floor she hadn't seen. It didn't gave much either, the most prominent thing was indeed a large staircase that ascended into the darkness above them. Hermione didn't know if it was her imagination, but she felt like it constantly became darker in this house. If they didn't have _lumos_ casted they weren't able to see much at that point.

There was one problem, though. The stairs looked nowhere like they could use them without hurting themselves badly by falling through a rotten plank. Bella, though, confidently walked towards the stairs. Before she could put her foot on the first step, Hermione grabbed her arm. „Are you daft? You can't really intend to walk up there, can you?" She was surprised, but she was genuinely concerned about the witches reckless behavior. _I know she's not a child anymore, but she can't be that inconsiderate._

Bellatrix quirked her eyebrows. „You're kidding me, right? _Reparo_!"

Bellatrix pointed her wand towards the stairs, that magically started to reconstruct themselves within seconds. They didn't exactly looked brand new, since the material was fairly old, but safe enough to walk on.  
Hermione blushed a deep red. _Right. Their wands weren't just flashlights._

„Oh…yes, I forgot."

Bellatrix looked at her puzzled for a few seconds, after that, she broke out into laughter. It was a clear, light laughter, that didn't have any quality of her normally arrogant, cackling laughter, but only seemed genuine and honest.

„Oh my god, you can't be serious. You _forgot_? Since when did you use magic again? We're even on the next hundred stupid questions I ask about muggle-stuff, you hear?"

„Yeah yeah." Hermione mumbled embarrassed. „Let's go already."

To gain at least a little of her dignity back, Hermione decided to go up first, Bellatrix followed her close, still chuckling a little. When they reached the top of the stairs, the found themselves in a small hallway, three doors led to other rooms in front of them.

In the first two rooms it was the same as in the former ones. The last room though, at the end of the upper hallway, they found something odd.

„Jean, look."

Bella didn't need to point it out, Hermione saw it herself: Between all the mess around them, there was one small cabinet that seemed intact, almost too clean for its surroundings, let alone that it was the only non-broken piece of furniture in the whole house. On top of it, it had an item on it. Not much larger than a golfball. Carefully, the came closer, until they could identify the item in the dim light of their wands.

It was a small, black figurine of a snake.

Hermione and Bella looked at each other. This was odd.

„Okay, I don't know what you think right now, but it has to be coincidence!" Bella hissed.

„This looks almost like your transfiguration-figurine, though."

„Yes, but I have no clue why, I swear!"

„You promise? It was also coincidence we met today?" Hermione said warily. _Did she fall for a trick here?_

„Holy shit, yes! How should I have plotted that?! Would you _please_ trust?" Bella said, eyes wide.

 _Trust her? …Yes, she was right. NOT Bellatrix Lestrange yet, Hermione, remember that. It's literally impossible for her to have constructed this here, she's right. Have a little confidence in her, would you?_ Hermione realised she overreacted right now and immediately felt embarrassed about it.

„Okay, I believe you…also, I'm sorry. Let's just find out what this is about."

They eyed the snake, even took it from it's place and felt the surface of the object. Now a few differences between Bellatrix' work and this showed. It was hard to say who was more relieved about this." Still, it was really strange. What did this object do here?

„Well, there is only one thing left to try." Hermione said, after a while.

„What would that be?"

„You read the poem, there was a spell at the end."

Bellatrix looked at her big-eyed. It seemed she had forgotten that detail.

„And would you kindly explain why we didn't try that in the first place?"

„Because it would be unwise to just storm into something unknown, casting a spell you've never heard of, not knowing what it does in the first place. We had to check everything before." Hermione said determined.

„Well, then spill it out now, we've nothing else to check here."

„Yes, yes, wait." Hermione said, lifted her wand and concentrated.

 _„Ostenta temporis preteritum pueritae!"_

They waited. Nothing happened.

Hermione tried it again. Still, nothing. „You sure you got the spell right?"

„Absolutely, there's _no way_ I got that wrong."

„Still, let me see the diary again."

„Sure, do it better if you can." Hermione said a little offended and gave the book to the dark haired witch.

Bella opened the book and checked the last part over.

„Okay, you used the correct spell…"

„Told you so!"

„But I think I know where the problem is."

Hermione's expression changed from slightly unnerved to puzzled.

„Look: „Find the place, go jolyf and loud, in a childlike manner, so at least blutter or shout…"

I don't think that's the kind of spell you can just „cast". That part before is important, too."

„But how exactly do you say that in a „childlike manner"? I don't get it." Hermione said confused.

„We just have to try, don't we? Holy shit, It's going to be embarrassing."

„Okay. How about we do it together and never talk about it again?" Hermione offered.

„Sounds good."

They stood next to each other, both highly concentrated. Hermione tried to work out how she could sound childlike and not completely stupid in this situation, while Bella had the strangest expression with a weird smile on her face. She probably tried to find into the „role" of a child or something.  
 _No way this wont work, sure._

„Let's count to three?" Bella suggested.

„Alright."

„One..two..three! – _Ostenta temporis preteritum pueritae_!"

To Hermione they sounded absolutely idiotic, also, at how Bella grimaced after their try, she seemed to think the exact same thing.

But, to their absolute surprise, something happened.

The world around them started to blur, they saw colors and forms changing and moving around them until they felt like they stood in the eye of a tornado. They moved closer to each other, back to back, wands drawn, like working on instinct. After a few moments, the storm around them started to lighten up, the colors and objects started to stay at specific places. When everything had calmed down, they could see what had happened.

The room had lightened up considerably, also it wasn't trashed anymore. Well, it kind of was, since they stood in the same room, somehow still seeing the broken furniture from before. But over that, there was something like transluscent a layer of intact, functioning furniture. They knew they were still in their own reality, this was just something projected, something like…

„A hologram! Awesome…" Bella said, eying their surroundings with slightly open mouth. „Really, how cool is that?"

„Yeah, but what does that…"

„Mother, mother, come here! I need to show you something!"

Both jumped around to look at the door. In front of them was the also slightly luminescent projection of a small girl, maybe 5 or 6 years, trying to drag an older woman behind her into the room they were standing in right now. Both froze for a second, but when the people bluntly went through them, they knew they were safe for the moment.

The woman behind the small girl looked a little stressed, but smiled despite of that.

„It's alright, Agnes, I'm behind you. What is it? Mama has to go working soon."

„Agnes…" Bellatrix breathed, clutching Hermione's arm.

„Look, look what I did!" The girl seemed genuinely excited now, pointing towards the other end of her room.

The older woman laughed. „It is alright Agnes, show me."

The walked towards the end of the room, where, in the hologram, an old, wrinkled flower stood, that obviously would wither soon.

„Aw, it stopped." The little girl pouted for a second, but quickly started to smile again. „But I can do it again, watch!"

She snatched the flowerpot from the ground, holding it between her knees, cupped the blossom with her hands and took a deep breath. She also closed her eyes, an expression of deep concentration on her face. After a few seconds, she opened both hands and eyes again, beaming. The flower had been reviewed again, shining broadly in a jolly red.

The girl happily looked at her mother- but her expression froze in shock. Hermione and Bella looked at the mother, who, then, slowly took a step back, then another, clenching the fabric of her dress over her heart.

„ _Agnes_! You must never, never do this again. Do you understand?!"

„B-but it's so pretty…"

Now the mother rushed forwards, slapping the flower out of the girls hand, chest heaving.

The little girl obviously didn't understand what had happened right now, she looked devastated and started to cry. „Mother…"

„No more of this, go out now. Forget everything about it."

Heartbroken, the girl went through the door of her room that her mother was pointing at. She still was shaking, drenched in sweat and white like a sheet.

 _That is what learning that your daughter is a witch in the middle ages looked like…_ Hermione thought fascinated. Even if she felt absolutely sorry for the girl at that point, she could understand the mother. That simple trick the girl seemed cute at that time meant the possible death of the family to them.

„Since this is Agnes story, we should probably follow her, don't you think?" Bella interrupted her musing, putting her hand on Hermione's shoulder. She nodded.

„Let's go."

They quickly caught up to the little girl, who, thankfully, walked really slowly, with sagging shoulders down the stairs and into the small front court the house had. Another girl was already sitting on the stony soil, playing with a small, worn out doll.

„Agnes, Agnes!" She screamed as soon as she saw the other girl approaching her. A broad smile on her face. When she looked closely at her, she frowned.

„Sister? Are you alright?"

„Yes…I just got scolded by Mother…she didn't like the flower-trick I showed you earlier…" The girl that was apparently Agnes younger sister, maybe 4 years old, made big eyes. „But…but the Flower was alive again! That is a good thing, isn't it?" Then, she frowned a little. „And you still don't tell me how you did it…"

„That's because I don't know it, Ellie." Agnes said, sitting down in front of her sister, petting her head. „I just concentrate and…it happens. If I could explain it, I would."

„Promise?"

„Yeah, I promise." Agnes said, hugging the smaller girl. Despite her young age, she seemed to be quite mature and considerate when it concerned her sister.

„Show me again?" Then, the little girl pleaded.

Agnes fidgeted a little. „Mother just said I should not do that…I am not allowed to. I'll get scolded again."

„It'll be fine, around that time she's always doing the laundry in the courtyard. She won't see us now!"

„I don't now, Ellie…"

„Please, Agnes! I love it so much when you do that."

„Well…alright then. Real quick, okay?"

„Yaaaay."

With that, the little girls stood up, searching for an appropriate flower to use. After two minutes, Agnes called out to the smaller girl.

„Ellie! I found one."

Her sister, as well as Hermione and Bella got closer, to see a rather rotten dandelion on the ground. Agnes and Ellie kneeled in front of it. Agnes took a deep breath, while the girl next to her giggled with glee, when her older sister folded her hands around the small flower and closed her eyes. It took a few seconds again,then , she looked up again. And, the dandelion had turned to its former yellow beauty.

„It's so amazing…the girl said, eyes shimmering and looking at the new born flower. „I wish I could do that…" „I'm sure you will." Agnes said with a smile. „Once you're–„

„WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?!"

All four heads on the yard turned away from the Dandelion and looked in front of them. Two men were approaching, with rather quick steps, ire and fear in their faces. A few meters away they stopped, pointing with their fingers in the direction of the girls.

„Daemon! Witch! Satan's child!"

„Wh-what?" Agnes said, obviously shaken to the bone. Her sister was whimpering behind her. A few steps behind them Hermione and Bellatrix, almost as shocked as the girls.

„The flower! You just brought it back to life. That's witchcraft, you're a goddamn abomination! Christ, help us!" He screamed at her, making the sign of the cross in the same time.

„Send them to the scaffold!" Another man shouted.

„No! She'll run away or hurt someone! Let's kill her now! Or both, I bet her sister also is a witch!" _„Oh my god…"_ Bella said, she looked like she didn't know how to feel about this. They both knew they couldn't intervene when the guys took large stones from the ground and started throwing them into the direction the girls, staring at them with pure hate and fanatismn in their eyes.

Their faces were even contorted of disgust and fear, only because of the small girls in front of them brought back a flower.

But why did Hermione feel like the eyes were directed at her now? And actually, where did the girls go that had been in front of them just a second ago?  
„Ah!" The first stone went in her direction. She dodged out of reflex but couldn't suppress the small sound of pain when it brushed her side.

 _What? Why did it touch me?_

What the fuck is happening?!" Bella screamed.

 _„Watch out!"_

* * *

So.. I remembered you all were big fans of cliffhangers, so I did you the curtesy of giving you another one. *Patronising smile* You're welcome. But well :D Waterhouse, it finally started. What do you think? A lot of you already anticipated Bella would join Hermione on this journey…and well, it just came in handy, of course. Hope you liked it :)  
There're probably a bunch of errors in the text, I'm sorry about that. But I really wanted to get finished now, I'll probably come back later for a little editing. Also, I didn't use medieval language for the conversations in the hologram-part, I hope you don't mind, I think it would be to confusing in the end.  
(And yes, Agnes Waterhouse really lived in a city called Heatfield Peverel. Sometimes, those stories really write themselves.)  
Again, I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I'll try my best to get my old updating-scedule back to work! So, see you (hopefully) next week :)

Mandy: Okay, I'm very sorry :D But it won't be that easy for the girls.

KSR: So..at least half of your expectations got fulfilled, i think? :D I can at least tell you that Andromeda will make an appearance again, soon.  
And well...the Talos think. I'd love to tell you..but we both know I won't for now :D Patience.

DarkSnow3: I am always impressed at how elaborated and full of emotions your reviews are, I really love them :D (and I still have no clue what's wrong with my messenger, but thanks for pointing it out...well, the support team didn't answer me until now, no clue on that one) It's lovely to see how much fun you have while reading, keep that on! :)

Boomerang: Well, I think I can promise at least a little drama for the future, but I intend this story more on the "adventure"-part of it, for the time being. It always had been a big part of the original series and I'd just like to stick to that. But it's still a romance-story, so that of course won't be missing :)

automechKaz: You're flattering me :) But yeah, the girls have a long way to go ;)

Icarus: Let's say, the move went :D But now I'm back to business! Hope the new chapter is also to your liking :) And thank you for confirming for me that, as you call it, "a softer tone" was not the worst idea. There are a lot of great "angst"/"hurt-comfort" stories out there...but I wanted to do it a little differently^^

queenofevilsmirks: there you go :D Your questions..well...you need patience :D


	13. Chapter 13

And again, it's been longer than a week - I'm really sorry, I hope the waiting wasn't so bad - no further words, on with the next chapter!

Chapter 13: Black Illusion

„You always seem to know the answer to it all

You seem to cheat the truth and never take the fall

Your life is hollow and you simply the rules

The time will come when you will join the other fools."

Ozzy Osbourne, Black Illusion

* * *

What the fuck is happening?!" Bella screamed. „ _Watch out!_ _PROTEGO_!"

Hermione, still too shocked to move, would've been hit with a fist-large stone directly in her face if it wasn't for Bellatrix, who had casted the protection-charm in the last second. That finally shook the brunette awake and she also drew her wand. When the men came closer, they looked warily, but already had the next projectiles ready in their hands.

„We don't want to fight with you!" Hermione said loudly. Holding her hand with the wand away from her body to the side, in a gesture of peace. „Please, we'll leave. Just let us go."

„Speak for yourself, I'm gonna teach those little-„

„Bella!" Hermione hissed.

„Dirty witches, gods punishment will come upon you!" One of the guys screamed, moving to throw the next stone. Hermione had no clue why, so suddenly, they were forced to interact with the holograms, it made no sense. Her brain ran on full speed on how to solve this situation, when Bella took the decision from her.

„Talking seams to be fruitless." The Slytherin acknowledged, pointing her wand at the furious men.

„Bella, wait!"

„No, Jean." Bella said, determined, blocking the next stone, this time directed at her, with a flick of her wand. „Sometimes, you have to think of yourself first.

 _Flipendo_!"

Hermione knew the spell Bella had used, but still flinched when she felt the magical force rush by them. It was a pretty weak spell, that would do nothing more than force the men back a few feet and stumble. Bella obviously hoped to scare them away, not really hurt them. It relieved Hermione incredibly.

The effect was a little different, though. The men screamed as they were thrown back violently ten meters backwards into a thick brick-wall. Th collaboration caused a loud crack and the wood- and stone-structure of the house collapsed above the men. For a few seconds muffled screams emerged from under the debris. Then, nothing.

Hermione looked with big eyes at Bella, whose mouth opened and closed repeatedly, wand still pointing where the men had stood only a few moments ago. Comprehending what just happened. Slowly, her head turned in Hermione's direction. Her wand-arm had started to tremble a little. „Jean, I _swear_ -„ she started, but in the same moment they heard screams and cries in front of them. The two small girls were back, shivering and on the ground. Agnes had a bleeding leg that looked like something heavy had hit her. Her sister sat on the ground, crying.

A lot of people started to gather after they heard the loud noises. Approaching the girls and the ruined structure, trying to rescue the buried men.

„They did not make it…" One of the helpers said more matter-of-factly than sadly after a while, lying the men down on the ground with some other guys. No movement, empty eyed, their faces contorted into a scream.

„Hey, did you see what happened?" One of the bystanders asked the frightened girls when he noticed them. The smaller girl only whimpered, but Agnes answered them with a shaken voice. „We…we don't know. We just played in the yard when it suddenly… collapsed. We…we couldn't…"

„It's alright, dear." An older lady said, patting the girls shoulder. „You couldn't have done anything. But...oh my, what happened to your knee?" She said, eying Agnes bloody leg.

„I-I slipped when I heard the loud noise, I got scared. I fell on that rock over there." She said, shivering, pointing at the blood-sprinkled stone to her feet.

„Alright girls, go inside to your mother. This is nothing you should see at your age. Leave."

Quietly, the girls stood up, the smaller one still whimpering and crying, Agnes took her hand and they left the still growing crowd. When they had entered the house, they encountered their mother who accured from the other side of the house.

„What did happen, Agnes?" She asked, eyes wide.

The girl told the same lie she had just presented the other villagers. Her mother nodded, but Hermione saw the lingering doubt in her eyes, gazing to her injured leg. Fear settled in her expression."Go to your rooms for now." She brushed by the girls to look at what happened on the outside for herself.

After her mother left, Agnes took the face of her sister in her hands, looking her in the eyes intensely.

„Let's never speak about what just happened, okay?"

„B-but…"

„Never, you hear? They will come again if we do. Mother was right."

„Okay…Agnes…I-I" The girl sniveled.

„No, Ellie…just don't. It's alright." Agnes said, determination in her voice. „We won't let them separate us. We're sisters." She lifted her hands from her younger sisters face and put her arms around her shoulders. Both embraced embraced each other in a tight hug.

„It's going to be alright."

The images of the girls holding each other suddenly blurred and it was again that Bella and Hermione found themselves in a whirl of colors and forms. When it vanished, they stood in the kitchen of the old and rotten house they did enter in the beginning.

„Is…is it over?" Bellatrix slowly asked, wand drawn, eying their surroundings. It was mostly quiet. Rain splashed against the shattered windows from outside of the house. The noise of cars in the distance as a reminder of reality.

„I think so. The illusion seems to be over. _Ouch_." Hermione said, she had wanted to lean against a wall and had forgotten about the injury from the stone that had hit her. She felt a gaze upon her and realised Bellatrix was eying her with a worried expression on her face.

„Right, before everything else, how's your side?"

„Nothing, it's fine."

„Show me." The witch said, coming closer.

„I can just go to the hospital wing later."

„And explain how exactly that happened? They would probably think it was me who hexed you or something. Now show me already." Bella demanded, becoming impatient.

„I wo- _would you stop stripping me_?!"

Bella was relentless though, they squabbled with each other for a few moments, until Hermione's side was bare to see, regardless of her protests.

A large, black bruise had already started to build. _And the stone only brushed my side._ _One inch to the left and and it would've caused serious damage._

„Do you feel like it damaged your ribs or something?"

„No, it just brushed my side. Really, it looks worse than it feels." Hermione said, trying to push her cloth back over her belly, still slightly embarrassed about the situation.

Bellatrix shrugged, not paying any attention to Hermione's attempts of covering herself, and pointed her wand at the brunettes colored side. It finally let the girl stop struggling and she let out a defeated sigh. Bellatrix nodded satisfied, then started to trace the outer lines of the bruise with her wand, holding the other girl's shoulder down with her other hand. Hermione suppressed a shiver while the Slytherin muttered a healing spell along with her moving wand. Soon, the pain Hermione had felt lessened considerably and the angry violet-blackish color changed into a friendlier yellowish-pink-tone. It looked like it was several weeks old now and had almost fully healed.

„I think that's the best I can do now, it should be fine in a few days. But still, take care, okay?"

Hermione smiled warmly. „Thank you, Bella."

„Uh-uh. Yeah, no problem."

If Hermione didn't know better, she would say, the other girl was a little embarrassed now. She stood up, dusting her coat and clearing her throat. „You paid for breakfast, needed to pay you back."

„If you say so." Hermione chuckled. „Anyway, I appreciate it." She firmly tucked her clothes back to in order, standing up and looking around. „Well…let's get out of here before we discuss anything further?"

„You think we're finished here? We shouldn't go back up?"

„Until you don't want to go through the same thing again..no. I have a theory about that, I'm quite sure we're finished here. Please, let's go somewhere a little friendlier to talk about it, I don't really wanna stay here any longer."

„Sure." Bellatrix said, followed by a deep sigh. „But I really don't wanna do that sober."

* * *

Even if it didn't feel like it for the girls, they had spend half the day in the childhood home of Agnes, it was well past noon when they left the small, old house. It was amazing how this could go unnoticed, the magic, the mysteries it held. But well, it wasn't meant for anyone to find.

Both felt equally hungry after their adventure, so they went to one of the small shops that luckily still had open and purchased some sandwiches and, since Bella wouldn't shut up about it, some beer with it. They strolled towards a small, at this weather unattended, park nearby, since Hermione still felt uncomfortable with walking too long due to her injury. They casted heating charms and sat down beneath a group of large foliage trees on a bench.

„So…" Bellatrix started, nibbling on her sandwich while opening her first bottle of muggle-beer. „What exactly happened? We were drawn in some kind of illusion-spell and at some point it wasn't an illusion anymore. That was somewhat strange. They looked at us, not the girls back then. Clearly attacked _us._ Your stomach is the best evidence for that. After I…attacked those guys, it was back to the illusion again. What did that whole thing mean? Did we finished the task? Also, there is the point of the strange figurine in the beginning…I really don't know if we should have just left it there, though." Bellatrix concluded her recent thoughts on the matter at hand.

„I really don't think so, let me explain." Hermione said, gathering the notebook and her gloves from her back, chewing on her own food occasionally. „In some way, it was all explained in that poem of hers. You didn't read that poem as often as I did, I developed hundreds of theories and possibilities what she did mean by those lines. I'm now pretty sure there is no poetric nonsense in it, it only holds information, even now. Look."

She carefully opened the book and showed Bella the poem again.

„ _If you are willing, first look at the prime, go to the place where it begins,_

 _Feel the ilhayl, misery and pyne_

 _Go through time to look at the woodness and sins_

 _That were never truly mine."_

Hermione quoted a part of the poem again and looked at the Slytherin intensely.

„Look, if you think about it, this truly explains what happened. Well, a lot of it, at least."

„I'm really not sure I know what you mean this time, sorry, Jean." Bellatrix said, taking a sip of her alcoholic beverage. „Well, at least it mentions the time travel, somehow."

„Basically, I think, she wanted us – or everyone who would get through her riddle, at the matter – to see a part of her, as she calls it, ‚ _ilhayl, misery and pyne_ '. How unfair the world behaved towards her. She said to _feel_ what happened to her, not only to _see_. So she created a Hologram, where, at a core-happening, we would turn into her, having to manage a situation we were overthrown by."

„She wants us to understand her…" Bellatrix concluded, Hermione nodded. „You…you think we lived through a part of her actual history?"

„That's what I think at least, yeah." Hermione confirmed. „ And since the riddle is planned not only for us, but for more people to take part in, I don't think we shouldn't take anything from the house, since we would either not be allowed to do it, or would damage the incredible and beautiful magic she created there."

Bellatrix gave her a queer look, before nipping at her beer again, which was apparently to her liking. „I can't argue with you there, still, it's amazing how you can describe the magic that almost broke your ribcage as „incredible and beautiful".

„Well, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder." Hermione stated. „But this piece of magic is around for hundreds of years, working perfectly, leaving something from her behind and creating something new. Truly wonderful, actually. Also dangerous, of course."

„You sound like the worst fangirl." Bellatrix chuckled.

Hermione's face turned red. „Well, mind you, I appreciate good work, nothing else."

„Sure. So, what did we learn right now? If this really was a part of Agnes history, she escaped death only by chance. Also her sister, for what it's worth. Did you knew that she had one?"

„I think I saw it mentioned somewhere, yes. But her name never occurred, it was just a general mentioning. There isn't much known about Agnes in the first place…"

„Ellie…" Bellatrix mused. „Must be a nickname for something like Elisabeth…or Eleanor." She smiled a little. „When me and my sisters were younger, they really had their problems with pronouncing my name. Since then we stuck to our nicknames. Only calling each other out differently when we were angry…" She was staring in the distance now, clearly being drawn to certain memories with her younger siblings.

„Yeah" Hermione said quietly after a while. Bellatrix flinched a little at the sound of her voice, she clearly hasn't been here with Hermione the last seconds. „Agnes really seemed to care a lot for her little sister as well." She added tentatively. She didn't actually wanted to interrupt Bellas thoughts, but she needed her back in the here-and-now again. They needed to discuss this.

„Well…yeah." Bellatrix slowly said, nipping at her drink again and chewing on her sandwich to win back her composure. „So we saw…no, _underwent_ her first traumatic experience with her magical heritage. Gave you a bruise and me the scare of my lifetime with it, only to let us feel what she felt? What sense makes that?"

„It wasn't only about that, I think." Hermione commented, checking the poem again. „It wouldn't really be a task to sit through the illusion, don't you think? The point where the illusion incorporated us – that was when it _really_ began. The proof of our worth."

Bella chewed on her lip. „So it was the right decision to attack them?"

"I can only assume so. As you saw, talking to them didn't work. I'm not too sure about that part, though. But, if our assumptions until now were correct, there is one way to find out."

„And that would be…?" Bellatrix asked confused.

„Flipping to the next page of the notebook." Hermione simply concluded, taking a deep breath, turning the page of the notebook over.

 _Thank God._

„I knew it! Bella, look here!" Hermione said excitedly. „Look, there's another poem in here. We really did it!"

Since the notebook had such a huge magical impact, and still so many empty pages, Hermione had assumed for a while now it would funktion as some kind of guide through the journey which would only reveal it's secrets after their fulfilled quests. This way, if Agnes would've placed more of them around the school, there could be more than one person – or team – be on the task without taking the opportunity from the others. _Genius._

Both of the girls started to read.

 _Hail leve,_

 _Best wishes to you and your ure,_

 _in the nest of serpents you've been lured,_

 _Acquired the right to know, be sured,_

 _what comes after the sly one, after the pure._

 _The prime be done,_

 _The task of the snake begone._

 _From the place where it startet to the place it went on._

 _The walls of Fayerye and swynke,_

 _A place that should help when stricken,_

 _The travel continues_

 _for some to be loved, for some to be sicken_

 _Look for the clue, the dark and the light,_

 _A burrow of many,_

 _protected by loyalty of a white and black knight_

 _Cast it again,_

 _The Chant that you know,_

 _This time with patience,_

 _Only truth it will show._

After a few minutes, Bellatrix sighed. „I have literally no clue what this all means, Jean, do - _ouch!"_ Bellatrix hissed when the brunette grabbed her forearm forcefully.

„Bella!"

„What?!"

„I think I understand!"

„Really, you know the next step?"

„No, absolutely not."

„Jean, if you find this funny-„

„For gods sake, listen!" Hermione said, almost piercing the paper at a line of the poem with her nail.

„Look, here, it says something about the ‚ _Serpens dent_ '" She moved her finger. „And here, it refers to snakes to!"

„So?"

„Don't you think it's suspicious snakes are mentioned twice in the poem when we found a snake-figurine as a part of the first task? Under those circumstances, I can hardly imagine that part to be metaphoric."

Bellatrix frowned, considering the poem again. "Yeah, you're right." Suddenly, her eyes became big.

„ _The sly one, the pure_ … do you mean this-„

„-refers to the house Slytherin somehow, yes." Hermione finished her sentence.

Both girls looked at each other excitedly.

„But...what does that mean?" Hermione questioned. She said it more to herself than to Bellatrix, but the other girl answered nevertheless.

„However you see it, if the quests really are somehow connected to the houses, the next part has to be about Hufflepuff, doesn't it?" Bellatrix stated.

„Why do you think that?" The other girl asked confused.

„Here, that part. _‚A burrow of many, protected by loyalty of a white and black knight_ "

A white and black knight in a burrow…that has to refer to a badger, right?"

„Bellatrix, that's _brilliant_!" Hermione exclaimed, checking the verse for herself. „I'm sure you're right here."

„You don't need to sound so surprised about me guessing something right." Bellatrix said drily.

„Oh come on, I didn't mean that."

„Yeah, I know." Bellatrix grinned and nudged the brunettes shoulder playfully. She seemed to be in a pretty playful mood right now, but honestly, Hermione felt the same. They really _did it._ Had figured out the first part of the riddle. The book was proof of it. Hermione was in pretty high spirits herself, to be honest. Now, that the stress of the earlier hours had fallen from them, they could start to be proud of themselves.

„Well, I think we should go back for now." Hermione said a while later. They had discussed the poem a little further, but didn't really get anywhere without the library and a proper way to research.

„At some point, the others will start to get suspicious where we went, it's already evening."

„Maybe in your case." Bellatrix shrugged, but stood up from the bench as she finished her beer.

„But alright. I can do with a little rest now, I think."

Since nobody had entered the park since they've gotten there, they apparated straight back to the entrance of the schoolgrounds from there, transfigured back their clothes and cautiously went back in the direction of the castle again. It was highly unlikely for any students to be out here right now, but still. Better be safe than sorry.

But first, they made a stop at the Pavillon they've met at their first trip trough the grounds.

„So…" Hermione said after a few seconds of silence between them. „You wanna go first?"

The sentence itself felt wrong to Hermione. She knew they couldn't actually leave like that. They had to say something else. About the day, the adventure, the experience. It felt strangely surreal, back at the school, as if the whole think only happened in their minds. But it _had_ been real, they experienced something strange together, something new. It had a special meaning for both of them, Hermione knew it. It deepened the bond she unconsciously had with the girl next to her. She just didn't know if she was ready to admit that. The more they got involved the more complicated it would become, she knew that as well.

„The last time you waited outside for a while, so now it's my turn, I guess." Bellatrix said with a weary smile, leaning against the low wooden structure.

 _Say something._

„Okay… I'll see you tomorrow."

 _Coward._

Torn between different emotions that crashed in her mind, she didn't have the courage to say what may would've been necessary in this situation. They shared something so special, would be sharing it in the future as well. _Gratitude, appreciation, significance. Why, Hermione, aren't you capable of using that talkative side of yours in situations like now? Are never able to, in the most important moments._

She had almost turned around, when she suddenly felt a soft tug at her sleeve, turning back to the girl that now failed to look her in the eyes.

„Uhm…" Bellatrix seemed unsure about herself for a moment, obviously struggling with something similar to Hermione's thoughts.

„Thank you, Jean. For taking me with you. It meant a lot to me, just so you know. I-…I see you tomorrow, I guess."

„Yeah… we have class again tomorrow, after all. And no problem, really…"

 _You really could learn one or two things from Bellatrix Black._

Before the Slytherin could open her mouth again, Hermione had embraced her in a big hug.

„Thank _you_ for coming with me… _finding_ me, today. I don't think I could've done this without you. And I'm more confident than ever that …we can solve this mystery… _together_." She stepped back from the flustered witch in front of her. A quick act, a faint display of the emotions she held right now.

„Well…see you." Hermione didn't wait for Bellatrix to react before she turned around and towards the castle.

* * *

Bellatrix was left stunned when she watched the Ravenclaw hurry towards the castle.

 _What?_

She didn't anticipate that. The normally so reserved witch, on the leave in one moment, hugging her in the next. It felt good, tough, to feel the sincerity in the witches action and words.

„ _I don't think I could've done this without you."_

The sentence went repeatedly though her head, even when had already begun to walk back to the castle.

Not in her wildest dreams she could've anticipated the events from today. It felt like the strangest thing in the world to go back to her every day life right now. She wanted to continue, to search for the next clue, to feel the _thrill_ again. Nothing in the last few years had been able to give her the kick this day was able to give her. Not Quidditch, not duelling, not anything else.

 _Who would've thought I would find the joy of my last year at Hogwarts in a muggle-village with a muggleborn overachiever?_ She thought smiling when she entered the Slytherin common room.

„Where have you been, Bellatrix? I haven't seen you all day." The common room seemed empty at first glance, but was occupied by one sole person who had just put the book aside that they had consulted a few seconds ago.

Bella flinched for a second when the person started to speak, then sighed. Sure, pretty much the only person who would question her whereabouts in the whole castle and she _had_ to bump into her the first second she came back.

„Where you waiting for me, Andy?" She said jokingly, trying to unnerve the girl.

„Yes, actually. So, where have you been?" _Something is wrong, am I imagining this or does she sound angry?_

„Nowhere, Andy, just taking a stroll outside."

„For the whole day?" Her younger sister asked skeptically.

„I really don't see how this concerns you. What did you want from me?" Bellatrix asked, now impatient. She really failed to understand why she had to discuss her activities with her overly observative little sister.

„We got a letter from our parents." Andromade said, raising her hand with a small parchment in it. „We won't have to go back home during the holidays, they'll be on a work-trip on that time."

„Is that so." Bella said indifferently.

„Want to see the letter?"

Bella snorted. „No, thanks. I can imagine how it looks." She highly doubted their parents showed something close to sorrow that they weren't able to see each other. If anything, she could be thankful since she had feared to hear more about their engagement-plans for her during the holidays. She remained neutral towards her sisters because this probably wasn't what she wanted to talk about. Merely an excuse for the real reason she had sit here and waited for who knows how long. _She could've just told me tomorrow. She wanted to be alone with me._

Andromeda chuckled. „They never needed us around much, did they? As if we all were good for nothings."

„Don't tell Cissy, though. Tell her they're devastated."

„Sure." Was the only thing Andromeda commented.

„Well…I'll be going then." Slowly, Bellatrix made her way towards her room, waiting for Andromeda to get to her actual point.

„Have you been with _her_ again?"

This time, Bella froze mid-motion. _How? How does she know?_

„ _What–„_

„ _Don't,_ Bella. Just don't. „Andromeda said, standing up from her chair and approaching her older sister slowly. „I know, okay? I've seen you together on the grounds before. You looked like familiar with each other."

Silence was all Bellatrix had to offer to her sister right now. She actually was speechless that time.

But apparently Andromeda didn't anticipate an answer.

„Years! For years you've spit that pureblood-bullshit around we both knew is crap."

„Andy-„

„ _Let me finish_!" Andy interrupted her, she was almost screaming now.

Andromeda was near now near enough for Bellatrix to see that she was crying, which shocked her more than anything. _I haven't seen her cry in years._

„We're sisters Bellatrix. We've lived through so much together. But apparently it wasn't enough to make you trust me."

„This has nothing to do with trust, Andy." Bellatrix hissed. „And would you keep it down? Somebody might hear you!"

„You know…I thought, maybe you'd call out for me…" A humorless laugh. „Since…you know? I've been honest with you about this. In the end, we both are in the same situation, as purebloods. As the children of our parents. As _sisters_. But apparently, this isn't enough."

And before Bella could say anything else, the other girl turned around and went towards her dorm.

 _Why is it that everyone just walks away from me today?_ Sighing, she also made her way up to her own dormroom. When she fell down on her bed, she crossed her arms behind her head, as far away from sleeping as she possibly could be. Too much circling thoughts in her head, dramatically increased in the last 10 minutes.

She could understand where Andy was coming from. But how she acted towards and with Jean was nothing she would want to drag her sisters in. Telling her about the riddle? Also impossible. _As she said herself, we're purebloods. It's not like anything is coming from associating with muggleborns._ She tried to banish this thought again, she didn't want to think about. Agnes and her sister came to mind again. How both of them cared for each other, how close they were. How hurt Andromeda had looked earlier. _When have we stopped to talk about the most important things?_ Bellatrix asked herself. At some point, they had been all they had, just each other. The three of them against the others.

 _They never needed us around much, did they?_

Remembering Andromedas words, she felt her stomach clench in guilt. How could she do this to the one person who would understand?

But was she still the only one?

 _I don't think I could've done this without you._

It was a confirmation Bellatrix didn't know was needed to set her at ease. That she would still be part of Waterhouse's riddle, would not only be tolerated, but actually _needed_.

At some point, her mind became hazy, the tiredness from the lack of sleep finally kicking in.

While drifting away there was a last thought that crossed her mind.

 _Would it be very selfish to wish you really wouldn't be able to do it without me?_

* * *

When Hermione entered her common room, a lot Ravenclaws actually had gathered there, but even the members of the most studious house had spent this day in leisure. They were talking, playing games and, thankfully, didn't mind Hermione much. Some of them nodded in her direction, but nobody tried to engage her in a conversation. Grateful for that, she hurried towards her dormroom.

It was emptier than expected, since Hailey was absent, with only Dee greeting her. The witch laid on her bed on her stomach, reading, apparently. She greeted Hermione with a smile.

„Jean, hey, good to see you. Have you been in the library until now?"

„Hey, Dee. Yeah, I've been there pretty much all day. How are you feeling?" The brunette quickly answered, thankful for the unknowing reminder of the story she had told the others the day before why she had to leave the party that early. „And where's Hailey?"

„Ohh, I'm good, I didn't drink that much, just can't pass on the opportunity to sleep in. For Hailey, I don't really know, the thing is, she-„

But as Dee started to explain, the door opened once again and a pretty worn out Hailey entered the room.

„Speak of the devil. You solved your problem?" Dee asked, giggling.

„Problem?" Hermione asked, confused.

„Well…yeah." Hailey said, looking somewhat embarrassed. Not an emotion she was showing often. „You see, last night, at the party, we maybe drank a little to much and one thing let to the other and…-„

„–And you were suddenly wearing a giant badger-costume, yeah." Dee said, now fully laughing. „Oh, I've already laughed about it since noon, but it really doesn't get boring."

„Glad to enlighten your day with my drunk mistakes." Hailey said drily, looking back into Hermione's giggling face. „You were still wearing it this morning when I left, yes." This wasn't a sight she would forget anytime soon. „I'm a little disappointed it's gone now. I hope you kept it somewhere?"

„Actually, no." Hailey said, somehow grumpy. „I tried transfiguring it back to my old clothes, but I probably messed the spell up yesterday when I was drunk." She sighed while Dee were close to a serious laughing fit. „The shoes weren't changing back and I also couldn't take them off."

„You mean you couldn't take off your _paws_ , Hailey."

„ _Zip it_ , Dee! Well, I didn't have the counterspell for messed-up transfigurations at hand, so since I didn't want to go to Madame Pomfrey, or, god forbid, McGonagall, I went to research one myself. That led me to the library, were I found a spell after half an hour while Madame Pince watched me like I had day release from a psychiatric hospital. The shoes weren't hurting anyone, jeez."

Hermione was still laughing, until Dee asked the following.

„Huh, you were both in the library? Why didn't you come back together, then? Or why didn't help Jean you in the first place? She probably would've known what to do."

Hermione's instantly stopped laughing after Dee asked that.

 _No. NO!_

There was no way to explain that. They would've seen each other at some point, it was impossible to miss each other. Hermione couldn't even use the excuse of the restricted section since she left before Hailey. They _would_ have seen each other, if she'd been there. She started to feel sick.

„Oh, yeah, I saw Jean, but I didn't want to bother her, she looked pretty caught up." Hailey said after a moment, nonchalantly. Without looking in Hermione's direction, she rather shot Dee a dark gaze. „I also am a witch, you see. And pretty much capable of solving a problem on my own once in a while." She glanced in Jeans direction for a moment. „As soon as I finished I wanted to look for you, but you had left already. Well, no biggie." She said, closing the subject. „I'd like to go shower now and then to go sleep again, I think. Class starts again tomorrow, after all."

„Honor-student you are." Dee said, still giggling, but settling back on the bed to read.

Hermione failed to understand for a moment. She looked at Hailey, who clearly failed to meet her gaze for the time.

 _She told Dee she'd seen me in the library. Why would she lie?_

When the sound of the shower emerged from their bath, Hermione also excused herself to also go to bed, pretending to be exhausted from the studying. Well, she felt quite exhausted, the reasons were a bit different, though.

She fell down on her sheets, crossing her arms over her belly.

The day just had become a lot more confusing.

With endless loose thoughts in mind, she slowly drifted into sleep.

* * *

Without pre-written chapters I've a lot less time to muse over smaller parts in the story before, I hope that's nothing too noticeable :D What do you think? First part of the adventure is done, is it something you expected? I somehow misjudged the difficulty of writing those poems when I first had the Idea to put them in the story…it really is one of the more difficult parts when I write the story and when I think about how much of them I have to write for future chapters…well. Self-inflicted so I can't complain. See you next time! (I won't write „next week" on this point, since I don't know how good my time-management will be in the future.) Thank you for reading and - hopefully - enjoying the story so far, your reviews are always making my day! Love, Hoshino

piecesofyourheart: Mh, satisfied with this answer? :D I'm not sure if this is what you expected…

SH4DOW44: I make sure to include more in the future, if you're so into them! :D

KSR: You were essentially correct, I guess. STILL to early for too much development, in my opinion…but the girls are on the right way :)

Boomerang: Thank you, I appreciate that you see it that way! If I'm honest, it is much more fun for me as well to write an adventure rather than a complete drama or lovestory. Since I'm actually thinking that there are already great stories out there with that genre (TGCWW for example) which I wouldn't reach in complexity and intensity if I tried to write them. So I went for the kind of story I feel most comfortable with and I also feel are somehow missing for this particular kind of ship.

Does that make sense? :D

Icarus: hoho, so many people interested in the snake :D it wasn't unimportant, as you see, more like..a missing link, maybe?^^

Plato's Ribcage:Yes, Emilie is awesome! Let me know what your favorites are. I always linked the song „Opheliac", which is one of my favorites, to TGCWW, what is one of the reasons I'd never use it as a quote for this fanfic :D)

ohmygoldfish101: There you go :)

DarkSnow3: Your reviews are always so appreciated, I don't know when you'll actually reading my answers, but it means a lot to me that you actually take the time to write such an elaborated text.

*Thinking back on what I wrote in chapter seven* Haah, I'd love to answer, but if you continue reading you'll eventually find out (if you're reading this, you should have so). Oh and I actually lived in rome for a few month, but my italian is pretty awful :D


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys, Hoshino back here. First of all, I'd like to apologise to all of you since it took me so friggin long to update. Life caught up on me, a new University, new people, a new life in general. Just in case you're wondering, it may be stressful right now, but I'm pretty happy with my decision of moving to this new city. I love the experiences I've made so far and I feel at ease there. And finally, I've found the time to dig in my beloved story again - I've written along the days every now and then, but not to a point I've felt comfortable with updating. If it's going out to you, It needs to be written with all of my heart, not just half of it, obviously.

I've got the strong feeling it's gotten pretty much quiet around the bellamione-community right now, so I just want to assure you over that I'll continue with this story and also the sequel I've planned for it. It's going to be long, it's going to be a journey for me and for you, if you want to accompany the girls and me along the way :) As always, enjoy the story!

* * *

Ch. 14 The foreboding sense of impending happiness.

„By your heart strings I'm hanging from a dream,

Gently swinging in the warm autumn breeze.

Come look at the scars, smother a heart, opening up.

Look at the scars, smother a heart, opening up, no more.

Tip toeing along a strand of your hair suspended between,

These thoughts and actions miles above reality."

Him, 'The foreboding sense of impending happiness'

* * *

„Oh bollocks, I just don't get the knack of this one!" The disharmonic sound of piano keys pressed at once sounded suddenly loudly when Bellatrix gave vent to her newest frustration.

„Oh come on, you'v practiced hardly an hour now, some things take time."

Hardly convinced, Bellatrix looked at the music sheets in front of her, visibly annoyed by the fact the new piano piece she was practicing didn't work out as she wanted. Sighing out loudly, she threw her arms overly theatrically over her head.

Hermione had to laugh. She closed the book she'd been reading until now. It had become harder and harder due to Bellatrix' more frequent swearing in the last minutes anyway.

„Just stop for today? Maybe you need to distract yourself for a bit. Works wonders sometimes."

„Well, wanna discuss Waterhouse again?"

Hermione sighed. „No. That _I_ need a break from. I feel like we haven't talked about anything else these days."

And it was true. It was roughly three weeks ago they've visited Hatfield for the first part of the quest. Since then, whenever they found the time, they've met either in the restricted section or late at night in the quire room, so they wouldn't be found out. Even in the library they've only met in hours other students would hardly be seen. And on the rare occasions one of the older students would try to enter the restricted section the mere raise of Bella's eyebrows would lead to an immediate retreat of those unfortunate people. _A few weeks ago I could've reacted the same way, but it comes in quite handy now and then._ The few times this scenario had happened, after the student would hurry away, Bella always turned her head to Hermione, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively with a smug smile. And Hermione had to snort each time and roll her eyes. Sharing a grin, they continued to work.

They've discussed every little inch of the poem and the adventure they've been through. In comparison to Hermione's lonesome work, with nothing in her hands than a mere hunch regarding Waterhouse, together now they've come quite far in this short time.

* * *

 _Two weeks earlier_

„ _You know?„ Hermione said, nibbling on an apple, taking notes while trying to translate some of the trickier parts of the second poem. „There's one part that's bugging me about this whole „house"-thing."_

„ _Well?" A pretty exhausted Bellatrix sat on the floor next to her. Her Quidditch-Team just had finished training when it became dark, so it was pretty late in the evening. She obviously could barely keep her eyes open, but still insisted on meeting that day. She's been almost more excited about the whole thing than Hermione and was obviously eager to start the next part of the riddle. Right now, though, the girl next to Hermione just looked ready to fall asleep on the spot, not up to much adventure for the moment._

„ _What is it exactly that she gains from sorting her riddles after the houses?"_

„A reason to set up that much strange quests?"

„ _I know you're tired, but_ you _wanted to meet up after your training. So be serious for a second."_

„ _Yeah, alright. Well…as you already said, she wants us to live through her history with her. And since it's one of her most famous treats to be the only witch in history that couldn't be sorted into any of the houses, she wants us to go through that as well, I suppose?"_

„ _Yes, I believe that as well. But I think there's more."_

 _That finally caught Bella's full attention. Sitting up straight, she looked over Hermione's shoulder and scanned her notes. „What do you mean?"_

„ _It's in the first poem, actually. She's going on about the „values", you need to have. Not just one, but several." Frowning, Bellatrix crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking at the ceiling, lost in thoughts. She were silent for a few moments, then she expressed what Hermione was thinking._

„ _You mean the values are referring to the houses, right?"_

„ _Exactly. She forewarns the reader that he or she isn't in need of one, but all the house-treats. '_ To be one of the glorious, one of the best.' _So you can actually_ enter _her house."_

„ _Since, you have to be like her…her who couldn't have placed in all the houses, but tried for every one of them._ _Do you think the figurine was the first hint on that?" Bella said excitedly._

„ _Hint to what?" It now was Hermione's turn to ask._

„ _How the quests are linked to the house-values. The first would've been Slytherin, we know that. But it wasn't a random choice. It was one of the situations where she proofed her qualities of a Slytherin, don't you think?"_

 _Hermione thought it over, pursing her lips in concentration. „This could really be it. I didn't think about it from that perspective. But it makes sense. Otherwise it would've only been work of research and not much of a true task after that."_

„ _You mean when confronted with the two men, when we had to interact with the ‚hologram-sphere' right?"_

„ _Yes, probably. It had to do with quick thinking and deciding what's best for you, you said it yourself that time." Hermione suddenly grinned and nudged Bellatrix' shoulder. „I would've probably ruined it at that point. Glad you're a true Slytherin."_

 _Bella had turned a little red after that._

* * *

They've discussed this over and over, but at some point, they started to argue in circles. They've again reached a point, this time far sooner than Hermione had on her own, where they should spring to action soon. The only left question was, how to do that.

 _One Week ago._

„ _So, to summarise…we're pretty sure the next thing has to do with house Hufflepuff, since the „Black and white Knight in the burrow" refers to the Badgers, right? And it has to be somewhere in Hogwarts." Bella concluded. This time, they sat in the Quireroom, since they pretty much agreed that the Library wouldn't help them out at this point anymore. They've read the poem too often to count, spoke about any possibility of interpretation. They must've discussed this over a dozen times, but there still was that missing link on what they should actually act._

 _Hermione nodded. „That's what we pretty much know."_

„ _What we're missing is, where exactly we have to look." „Also, what we have to do this time, of course." Hermione added. "But no real chance to figure this out before, unfortunately."_

 _Bellatrix snorted. „This is about Hufflepuff, what's the worst that could happen to us? Overly-obnoxious friendliness?"_

 _Hermione only arched an eyebrow. „Well, since nobody of us actually IS from house Hufflepuff, but still require the virtues of it, it could actually be a way bigger problem than the first one, if you think about it."_

„ _If we were to flop it at the Hufflepuff-Quest I'll kindly ask you to alter my memories that it had actually been one of the other houses. I couldn't live with the knowledge that Team Honey-Badger was the reason for our failure."_

„ _Well, how about we stop the unnecessary arrogance and actually try to solve our remaining problems?"_

„Very well _, let's summarise. We may not_ exactly _know where it is, but we at least have a very likely_ assumption _._

„ _Yeah, it's probably the common room."_

„ _Any idea how we should enter? Well, apart from mugging some first years for the password or whatever way to get in there."_

 _Hermione sighed. „Not really. Let's hope we'll find another solution, I really don't like the thought of threatening other students, this could be more complicated than we think. We'd at least have to obliviate them of the memory afterwards, so we'd need them to separate from a possibly larger group with a big enough timeframe…"_

 _While Hermione was musing, she noticed that Bella gave her a queer look._

„Something wrong?"

„Uh-uh…well. I've only been half-serious about that. Well, not that I've anything against it, really, but I'd counted on a veto from you for sure."

„ _Well…I'd like to use a different way, believe me." Hermione tried to defend herself. „But if we don't find any other way, there simply isn't. Beggars can't be choosers in the end. And we wouldn't do them any harm in the first place."_

„ _Jean, it was always clear as a day why you've been sorted into Ravenclaw, but now I know Hufflepuff really never had been an option."_

„ _Anyways." Hermione said, ignoring the last prick from the other witch. „Even if it's just an educated guess, it's our best choice for the moment. Let's just assume we manage to enter the common room - in which way what so ever - at any time._ Which _timing should we choose?"_

„Well, the less people there are, the better." Bellatrix said while standing up and stretching her shoulders. „I assume you're away over the holidays? Since that would be the perfect timing, actually."

 _Perplexed, Hermione looked up to Bellatrix, who'd started pacing around a little. „Actually, I had planned to stay in school, but I'd never guessed_ you _would stay here, actually."_

 _Bella suddenly stopped, rubbing her shoulders. „Well, my parents are rather busy people - they've sent us a letter telling us to stay in school for this time." She sighed a little._

„And Seriously? I'm rather grateful. I really don't know how to face them right now."

 _Hermione waited for a few moments, she knew she shouldn't butt in with her opinion without being asked. Bit since Bella didn't seem to want to talk this peculiar subject through right now, she only nodded. „I see –but this is quite convenient. Most of the students shouldn't be here over the holidays."_

The Slytherin agreed. „The whole castle is in low maintenance-mode, not even all of the teachers will be here."

„ _So this really will be the perfect opportunity. Marvelous!" She finished that last word with a huge yawn, taking of her glasses for a short moment to rub her eyes. "But I think we should go for tonight, it' s really gotten late. And I don't want to carry you back to your dungeons if you're falling asleep on the spot."_

„ _Fair enough" Bella yawned as an answer, opening the door and kept it open for Hermione to walk through._

„ _Still, the most dangerous thing I could imagine would be a cooking contest." Bellatrix murmured as the other girl had passed her. Hermione still heard it, though._

„ _Can you cook?" Hermione suddenly asked._

„ _No, not really?" Bellatrix said confused_

„Then let's hope that's not is, cause I can't cook either."

* * *

They've discussed this subject a couple of times, but the main problem remained that of the entrance to the common room. It just was their luck that, together, they covered half of the existing houses – three out of four actually due to Hermione's ... _situation –_ but not the one house they actually had to physically _enter_. What was mostly common knowledge was that it had to be near the kitchen somewhere, since all the Hufflepuff-students emerged from the same corridor in the morning.

But that had been it, actually. They didn't even know if the way to enter the common room required a password or something entirely else. So they've settled for the best solution they could find. If nobody of them was able to find the way into the common room by friendlier means until the last week before the Winterholidays, they would've no other choice than to force it out of a Hufflepuff-student.

Every other talk after this conclusion proofed redundant, since none of them could come up with another good way the needed information. Hermione knew she at least had the means to use the Eloquentia-potion as a last resort to that tactic, to make sure the student would at least tell them _willingly_. Well, at least sort of. But still, she'd rather avoid that. On the one hand, she would still have to obliviate any person she'd use the potion for, since they would still remember _telling_ her, even if it was out of their own will. In the worst case, they'd even suspect her of potion use, since it was no secret she won the price from Slughorn in their first potion class of the year. On the other hand, it also was a really potent potion, a rare one, difficult to craft. If she was honest, she'd rather keep it for a more _dire_ situation, whatever that would be in the end.

Bella interrupted Hermione's musing with a sigh of herself. „Yeah, you're right. She let herself down next to Hermione. „How about we talk about something else, then? It's been a while since our last ‚Questioning-session', it seems."

This made Hermione smile. But it was true. Apart from the occasional question, they didn't really had the priorities in those last few weeks. It was astonishing how easy it seemed for both of them to forget their complicated backgrounds in each others company. Of course they had to make their acquaintanceship a secret, but apart from that, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to the brunette to spend her time with the Slytherin. As time went on, her regards towards this changed from dreading anxiety into an apparent reality of her current life. It wasn't that Hermione forgot how dangerous this could be. It should be even scarier to think of how easily interwoven her life had become with the one of Bellatrix Black. She knew this wouldn't work out in the long run. But this was nothing she would concern herself about right now. She had decided to leave this problem for after they solved the mystery surrounding Waterhouse. At every earlier point this would be a threat to her cover and her mission. It was, wasn't it?

„Anything special you want to talk about?"

„Not really, just start with the usual." Bellatrix requested, interlacing her arms behind her back and expectantly looked at the girl next to her.

„Okay, let me think of something…-Ah, I know! See, it was when I just became 7 oder 8, I think…-„

This was a small game the girls had developed whenever they talked about the muggle world. Since it had been, even more so in the beginning, rather difficult for Bellatrix to ask questions about a subject she had literally no clue about. After a few first questions she wanted to ask („ _Is your food different from wizarding-food?_ " „ _Do you also have a way to travel like floo-powder?_ " And, strangely enough, „ _Did you really get to the moon?_ " which Bellatrix seemed really keen to know about) she had difficulties to formulate the questions she clearly had. So at one point, Hermione had just started to tell her stories from her childhood, which usually led to further questions from Bellatrix regarding a certain aspect. As long as Hermione didn't tell anything from her time at Hogwarts accidentally, this worked out rather well. And this time, it wasn't any different."

„We were to eat at my grandma's, but she's a pretty religious person, so she wanted to take us to her church before we could get…-"

„Sorry, but…what's a church?" Bellatrix questioned.

„It's a place where muggles practice their religious believes, even if it differs from religion to religion in name and appearance."

„So, muggles have more than one religion?"

Hermione had to laugh. „Yes, certainly. There're probably hundreds, but only a few rather big ones." Hermione gave Bellatrix a really short see-through through Islam, Buddhism and Christianity, only to cover some of the bigger ones,which still took about 15 minutes. Only interrupted by Bellatrix once when she said. „Ah, now I know who you meant by „Jesus" back in Hatfield."

"So... you're religious?" Bellatrix asked at the end of Hermione's explanation.

„I don't think so. And even if I had been, discovering I'm a witch would've shaken my believes a little, I guess. Since, in most religions, I would've been killed or at least outcasted because of it."

Bellatrix nodded. „Yes, that's something I remember from history of magic. So religion and witchcraft don't really suit each other."

„Well, religions and other religions also often don't suit each other as well. There have been a lot of differences and even wars regarding different religious believes."

„How bad of a difference could that be?"

„Well…War, mostly."

„ _What?_ "

„Wars have always been fought because of differences. Be it religion, culture or skin color."

Bellatrix snorted. „Different _skin color_ , really? What a dumb reason to exclude anyone, that just doesn't make sense. It's nothing you can do something about, is it?"

Hermione tilted her head and gave Bellatrix a queer look. „It really doesn't make sense, does it?"

„Yeah, I just said…oh." Bella became silent when it finally clicked.

„No, it doesn't make sense at all." Hermione sighed. „But humans, regardless if magical or not, always find reasons to hate each other. Some of them are just more creative than others."

Bellatrix remained silent after those last words from Hermione. When she took a peek at Bella's expression after a short time, her suspicions were confirmed. The girl had a look of deep thought on her face, something that Hermione had started to call Bella's ‚guilt-face'. Whenever she realised something about the wizard society in general, or the purebloods in a specific way, that concerned a high level of intolerance or something equally nasty, she'd just get silent for a while, narrowing her eyes and nibble on her lip for a bit, coping that once again she'd taken something grotesque for the ordinary.

Hermione watched silently for a while, not at all wanting to interrupt these moments instantly. A thoughtful Bella also was a reflecting Bella, which may led to a future _non-maniac_ Bella.

It was twisted, she knew that. The more she hoped for Bellatrix to understand, the more she had the feeling she shouldn't educate her more. She had tried to sort out her situation logically. She was here to solve the riddle around Agnes. Bellatrix helped her with that. To a point even where it would become impossible without the other witch. Their relationship had evolved around the pureblood-muggleborn-difficulty, first as a pretense for conflict, later, ironically, as the main reason for their bonding. Both had learned from each other, still did. And since Hermione obviously already _had_ been in the past, her hurried written letter still was on her mind clearly, she probably had to go through this whole situation as well. She had to admit, at some points those kind of thoughts became to much for her, she felt like she would entrap herself in a paradox web of _do's_ and _don't's_ about her current situation she could never be sure to be accurate or not. So she'd narrowed it down to the simple logical explanation from above. Both helped and benefited from each other. And as long as she would not let her in on any important information from the future, she'd continue like she did now. For a while at least.

This circled often enough around her head while observing Bella in her own conflicted reflection. Usually though, after a short while, she'd interrupt Bella in her musing. It wouldn't get her anywhere to antagonise her thoughts in that way in the long run. And neither it would herself.

„It's gotten late, don't you think? How about we call it a day, we've DADA tomorrow, I'd rather want to rest a little before that…"

That led the Slytherin out of her thoughts, it changed the worried expression into a rather cheeky grin. „I really can't see your problem there. I'm looking forward to it."

„Ooh, who would've guessed, really." Hermione said, while rolling her eyes, gathering her belongings and standing up from her place. „It's like you twisted Cranes around your finger, really. After you screamed „Stupor" while actually casting an Expelliarmus in silence, not only Vincent almost wet himself, I also thought Cranes would ask you to _marry_ him, regarding the look on his face."

„Jealous, Gabor?" Bella asked, moving with exaggerated slowness past Hermione, who'd held the quire-room-door open for the other witch. She even had the audacity to wink at her.

There was a slight sense of deja vu that got triggered in Hermione's mind, remembering the incident in the Owlery 2 month ago ( _has it really been that long?)_ But the complete absence of malice in Bella's voice and expression let her laugh out loudly.

„Absolutely."

* * *

„Excellent, Miss Black. Could you perform the last maneuver again? While she's doing, the rest of the class please pay specific attention to Ms. Blacks hand-posture."  
Hermione mentally rolled her eyes the third time this lesson, since, as always, Bellatrix got praised over the moon from Cranes for her – agreeably outstanding – performance. Cranes was almost _fangirling_ over Bellatrix like Slughorn did over Harry in her last year. This time, though, she couldn't be bugged by it because of cheating - since Bellatrix obviously wasn't. It was raw skill she was showing. Skill, that, Hermione begrudgingly admitted, she envied strongly. She also started to understand how her classmates must've felt all the time when she herself got praised by the teachers, which Bellatrix seemed to enjoy throughly. This effect for Hermione increased strongly, since Bellatrix once in a while flashed her a big, shiny grin. Quietly growling, Hermione had to admit the banter worked.

Sooner or later this arrogant attitude of the Slytherin would probably lead to an argument between those two, wouldn't it be for Hermione, actually being a suitable sparring partner. And, coincidentally, Arithmancy being Bellatrix intellectual tender spot. She wasn't bad in it, as Hermione wasn't bad in DADA, they simply outmatched the other in their particular subject by far. Professor Vector may was not as enthusiastic about her praise for Hermione's quick calculations, but her seldom compliments mostly were reserved for the Now-Ravenclaw. Whenever this situation occurred, Hermione made sure to pay the other girl the arrogance back with a smug smile on her own. She could almost feel Bella's clenched teeth at that moment. Oh, the satisfaction! But what once would've been the trigger for an enormous fight, was now more of a friendly - if rather cheeky - competition between them. On more than one occasion, they would've worked on their homework together, helping each other out and discussing. One time, they've had an two-hours argument about their last Transfiguration-class concerning the correct use of the spell to transfigure Objects into different aggregate phases. They spend good half an hour with converting the content of a butterbeer bottle, using different speeds while performing the spell. In the end, they found out that different postures promoted the change into different aggregate phases - only slightly, but still. It was nothing McGonagall had mentioned to them, so they figured this may even be a relatively new insight on this subject. It really was astonishing how they could loose themselves in conversations others may would question their sanity with.

It was something Hermione didn't really realise herself at first, until it was mentioned by Dee on the next weekend when the next Quidditchgame of the year would happen – Hufflepuff vs. Gryffindor.

„Jean, you've been often gone these days." Hermione and Dee had been walking towards the Quidditch-pitch after their breakfast on Saturday, together with a gathering crowd. „What have you been up to, if I may ask?"

„Uuuh, well. Library, you know? Since I've come as an exchange-student I have the feeling I need to catch up on the subject material."

„Hm, yeah, I don't think you really need to do that, you excel all of your classes anyway." Hermione couldn't pinpoint if Dee was actually buying her feeble excuse, but luckily she didn't question her any further. The next thing though, made Hermione almost stumble.

„The thing is, we miss you a little, we used to hang out more often in the beginning of the year. Don't work yourself to death, okay?

This gave Hermione a pang of guilt, had she really been this unsociable in the last time? Somehow, it was too easy to spend time with Bella, getting swept away by the thrill of solving the riddle...How could she neglect the girls that welcomed her so warmly?

„I- I'm sorry, I didn't realise that. You're right, I-„

„Oh, calm down Jean, really, it's not that bad." Dee said, squeezing Hermione's shoulder and giving her a smile. „It's not even like we _don't_ hang out anymore, it's just…we're a little worried you overwork yourself. Hailey does as well, I know, even if she always says to leave you alone with your work, you'd come around sooner or later – I probably shouldn't even have mentioned it, just don't mind me."

That triggered another problem in Hermione's mind. She hadn't have the heart to ask Hailey why she'd actually lied for her that one time after she had come back from Hatfield. It has bugging Hermione ever since, but she just couldn't find the right timing. But it almost looked like, Hailey was _still_ covering for her, somehow. She promised herself she'd ask the next time it was possible.

"But I know you're right." Hermione sighed. "I promise I will cut on the working stuff, I actually miss spending time with you too. I just get swept up so easily in work. I'm sorry, Dee."

Dee just grinned. "You're really cute sometimes, you know that, Jean? Don't sweat it, really. Let's just do something nice the next days together mit Hailey, alright?"

„Gladly." Hermione smiled "Where _is_ Hailey, actually?" Hermione asked.

„Making a floo call, but she said she'd make it to the game."

„I see…"

They settled down between their house members on one of the tribunes and it really didn't need to long until Hailey joined them.

„Nice, didn't miss anything!" She huffed, while placing herself between the other girls. The referee was just making his way towards both teams, Hermione saw Talos standing behind his Team Captain, twirling his bat around in his hand almost casually, grinning in anticipation.

The referee produced a sharp sound with his whistle, they shortly saw something golden flash near the ground before it vanished, then the game started off. It was a decent game, not as one-sided as the first match Hermione saw in this timeline, where Slytherin simply wiped the floor with the Ravenclaws. Still, there was a surprising upper hand noticeable.

„Seems like Gryffindor really is going to lose, isn't it?" Hailey made note of in the margin between the cheering form the crowd when a Chaser from Hufflepuff scored the 70:20.

„Well, what did you expect? Their team is mostly made out of new members, since they lost most of the old members in the last three years. And it won't be easy to replace Molly Prewett, she did most of the scoring after all."

„Molly Prewett?" Hermione asked curiously. After a second, she bit her lip. _Damn, why the hell would you be curious about that if you obviously never met her?_

„Oh, did you hear of her?" Dee asked, following one of the players that currently had the Quaffle in his hands with her eyes. „She was one of the best Chasers Gryffindor ever had, but she graduated last year. Oh, it's not even Prewett anymore, I think she already married that Weasley-Guy."

Hermione tried to look indifferent, but grinned inwardly. _Who would have guessed it was the maternal side the Weasley's got their Quidditch-talent from?_

In the end, it was an interesting match, even if the outcome was as Dee had predicted it. 50:210 it stood in the end, with the Hufflepuff-Seeker impressively caught the snitch above the professors-tribune, right in front of the face of Professor McGonagall, who almost fell into Professor Cranes who sat behind her.

Hermione cheered when Hufflepuff won, and, once again, felt like a traitor to her own, beaten house. It wouldn't make sense for her to sulk, though, since she'd absolutely no connection towards Gryffindor in this moment. She at least knew Talos from the other team, so, as a friend of his sister, she was kind of obligated to cheer for the Badgers this time.

„Girls, I have to go again. I need to get back to-„

„-Your floo call, I understand." Dee said, nodding in her direction. „See you later, make sure to spare some time for a butterbeer later?" „Sure will!" Hailey called over her shoulder before she left. „Oh, and tell Talos he wasn't half as good as the rest of the team!"

„Okay, I've refrained from asking until now, but why is she doing so much floo-calls? Even more since she's a muggle-born?" Hermione finally asked. Since she's got to know Hailey, occasionally she excused herself to make a floo call, would return a few hours later and act like she never went away. Neither Dee nor anybody else seemed to mind - or notice? - that peculiar behavior, but now the curiosity got the better of Hermione. She actually had suspected it to be something trivial – something like a weekly meeting of a club – so she was surprised to see Dee fidget after that question. „Uh…well, partly it's even because she's a muggle born, I guess– look, that's something you should ask her yourself. I doubt it's a problem if it's _you_ asking, but that ought to be something she tells you herself."

Hermione nodded, not poking any further, but taking note of as important now. It was another point she would add to the things to worry about regarding Hailey…

Luckily, they got interrupted that moment, since Talos had come to visit them at that moment, kind of escaping from the huge crowd that gathered around the Hufflepuff-team, but with a huge grin on his face that was still flushed from the match.

„How you girls doin'? Did we impress you?"

„Oooh, yeah, greatly!" Dee said, rolling her eyes, but grinned afterwards. „Well done, Bro. Maybe the Cup isn't that far off, huh?"

„Well, if there wasn't the Slytherin-Team, we would get it for sure!" He laughed, scratching his back with his bat.

„Hailey isn't here?" He asked after a few seconds while looking around for her.

„She was, already went off, but complimented your game."

„Sure she did." Talos grinned, scepticism obvious in his expression. They almost knew each other _too well_ , it seemed.

„Actually, I have to hurry myself." Dee said, taking a peek on the watch she wore around her wrist." „I've promised to write Phil after the game."

Hermione had followed the friendly conversation between the siblings for a while now, since it was rather amusing, even reminded her a little of the relationship the Weasley's had with each other. But this last sentence was like flipping a switch for Talos. His demeanor changed in an instant, from a still triumphant cheer to a lingering anger.

„I hope he isn't dragging you into something strange again."

„Talos…We talked about this." Dee said, her eyes narrowing.

„Yes, but I doubt anything I said sunk in, though." He said, averting his eyes. „I'm worried about you, you know? That _No-good–_ "

„- _Don't!_ " Dee said sternly, a tone Hermione wasn't used to hear from the gentle girl. „And don't be. I'm capable of my own decisions. See you later at the Dorm, Jean." She said and quickly went away, without another word.

Now it was down to Hermione and Talos, and an awkwards silence emerged between them. Hermione just wanted to start with excusing herself to take her leave to the library, when Talos spoke up.

„I'm sorry you had to see that, Jean." He sighed. „That was my fault."

„Uh, no, it-„ Hermione started.

„-No, really. "Talos interrupted gently." I shouldn't have lost my cool here. But _man_ I don't like that guy. He's truly no good for her."

Hermione was at a loss of words right now. She'd heard about Dee's boyfriend on other occasions, both from Dee and Hailey. And while Dee described him as „somewhat eccentric, but loving", Hailey depicted him as ‚a deranged turnip' - with that exact same wording, to be precise. And, on top, hilarious and worrying at the same time.

Hermione thought she'd get the picture from both those descriptions, but the insight she got from Talos right now intensified her worries. Despite her own bad feeling, she decided she should try to calm him down right now.

„I know you're worried about her and it's somewhat even your duty as a brother to be so. And I _am_ pretty sure, even if she's not showing it, she appreciates your care. Well, still, your sister is old enough to handle her own decisions. And you're better off supporting her right now, even if you're against her current boyfriend. It's not said that they'll stay together, so it's better to be close to her right now to protect her, than to distance yourself from her over her boyfriend, I guess."

Talos looked at her completely stunned and Hermione could immediately slap herself. She obviously just dug her nose to deep in what was obviously none of her business. She intended to apologise right away, but again Talos had a faster reply.

„That…wow. May be the single best advise anybody gave me on that subject."

„Uh…really?"

„Yeah…the few friends I talked with about this just started to rant about Phil." He sighed. „Needless to say that didn't get me anywhere." He smiled, looking Hermione in the eyes. „But I think you're right. Just needed to hear that. Thank you."

Hermione smiled back. If she could help their situation, she was glad she once again followed her tendency to become bossy.

„Well, I think I'll follow Dee now, I need to go back to the library. You played really well, for all I can tell, by the way. So...see you later."

With that, she turned away, but, to her absolute surprise, Talos quickly grabbed her forearm to prevent her from walking away.

„Wait, uh..–" As quickly as he caught her, the quick he also let go of her again, moving his hand away as in a defending gesture.

„Sorry! It's just, I rarely see you in the last time and I really wanted to ask you something."

„Okay, what is it?" Hermione asked confused.

He blushed a little, obviously not knowing how to formulate his next words.

 _What? Why is he making that face?_

„Uh, well- it's a little embarrassing to ask for me but…"

 _Oh god, no, this can' be happening…can it? No, I–_

"…would you _please_ tutor me in transfiguration?"

„ _What?_ " This probably sounded a little too perplex, but Hermione couldn't help it. She'd really anticipated something else here. Talos thankfully didn't seem to notice her own uneasiness here. Or at least interpreted at wrongly.

„I know it's totally sudden, but I really am in a huge dilemma right now. My grades have dropped so much there that Professor Sprout threatened me to forbid me from playing Quidditch until I show improvement. But I really _can't_ stop training now, we're maybe even able to get the Cup this year. And Dee and Hailey both told me you're some kind of genius so I _really_ hope you'll at least consider it."

„Oh, well, I-„

But she couldn't finish that sentence, since now the other Hufflepuffs needed his attention again, the victory celebration was about to start for the Hufflepuffs.

„Oh, you don't have to answer me right now, just let me know when you decided, okay? See you!" He called, before hurrying back to his friends.

Slowly, Hermione started to move back to the castle, in between other chattering students, back to her dorm.

 _Oh god, I really thought he'd confess to me there. How stupid, as if this would happen. Get a grip, Hermione._

* * *

Bellatrix didn't feel like going to the Quidditch match that day. She had a lot to think about and was pretty sure she could anticipate the outcome anyway. Hufflepuff was by far the strongest team after Slytherin, there wasn't much Gryffindor could do after their loss of Prewett. Also, her teammates would tell her everything she needed to know for their match against the Badgers. No, today, or even the last days in general, Bellatrix did a lot of thinking. A lot of thinking she probably should've done _weeks_ ago. But there was something Bellatrix had perfected over the years. This was avoiding a truth she didn't want to admit. The biggest of those things hadn't been sorted out completely by now, though it had started recently. The first steps were always the most difficult ones, they said. It felt more like an avalanche than steps though, something that started with the smallest impact. A gaze in the great hall, an outstanding performance in class, that lead to a myriad of other reactions that seemed to overwhelm her right now. She'd only known Jean Gabor only for a few month now, but since then it seemed like everything had changed for her. It was still difficult, nonetheless. And it would probably become even more difficult in the future. Regarding her standing in the wizarding society, her future, the arrangements her parents probably were doing right… _stop it. You're not supposed to think about that right now, focus._

Luckily, her musing hat been interrupted by the opening of the common-room entrance. Since by now, the Slytherin students that had visited the match had started to come back, discussing the game. The mood was relaxed in general – if Slytherin couldn't win, at least Gryffindor did loose – something every Slytherin would always appreciate. Right now, Bellatrix was waiting for someone peticular, though. Her head snapped up when she heard the voice of the person she was anticipating – for maybe the first time, being nervous. A group of students had just entered the room, happily chatting until Bellatrix interrupted them with her overshadowing presence which shut them up immediately. She focused on one of them, returning the wary gaze of the girl in front of her.

„Andy, would you come with me for a second? I'd like to talk."

* * *

That's it for today. I hope I'll be able to update a little more regularly in the (near) future.

If anyone questioned my music-quote this time: Him was one of my favorite-bands when I was a child, so it made me feel a little nostalgic to hear about their farewell-tour. Well, also the quote actually matched, so it kinda works out I guess.

See you the - hopefully not so long off- next time, guys!

Hoshino

Now for the Reviews:

Piecesofyourheart: Jep, Hufflepuff all the way it is for me, would totally be in that house :D Newt, for example, is another awesome Badger-Character. Well, there was a little Bella-Andy-action this time. I intend to update the next chapter sooner, I can promise you more interaction for the next one :)

KSR: Yeah, just a little belated, but I kept - and still keep- writing :) Happy to hear you liked it, the story starts to get serious now, still have to think about how to diffuse the different pieces of story into the chapters…but well, somehow I'll manage :D Thanks for reading, as always! Greatly appreciate your reviews all the time.

Davis1122: I'm sorry I let you wait for so long^^ I hope this will do for now? :D

Sixperfections: :D neat you like it, appreciate it! I can promise a little more of Hailey in the next chapters - not sure when exactly, but it'll be an important topic of course :)

rosereddesire: Wow, you really flatter me there! Thank you so much for your lovely review :) It's exactly that feeling I want to give people reading this story, since I've experienced it myself with just a few fanfictions. Believe me, it's the best feeling to hear I'm actually able to create this feeling for others 3 I'm again sorry it took me so long to update :/

waterproof88: Danke dir :D Ich hoffe das Kapitel kann die Erwartung erfüllen? Danke für das Kompliment, das bedeutet mir echt ne Menge! (Und es fühlt sich grade echt ungewohnt an, für auf deutsch zu schreiben :D)

DarkSnow3: Ok, you wrote SO many lovely reviews for my story. Please feel virtually hugged here :D I'd love write a whole chapters of answers towards your reviews right now, but I guess you'd be happier if I'd just update soon, wouldn't ya? :D But well, glad you caught up on the story by now, hope I didn't leave you waiting TOO long here. And also that you'll enjoy the next chapter. You'll see there were some points that you had the right track on, I guess ;)  
Always appreciate your reviews, really!


	15. Chapter 15

Baaaack again after such a short time, hell yeah! Not much to say, despite that this fanfic reached 300 followers. I'm truly flattered guys, since I can probably say by now that my first try in writing fanfiction is not a complete flop. *Yay* Have fun with the next Chapter, a rather long one this time as well!

Chapter 15 – Crosstalk

* * *

Tell me no more stories

And I'll tell you no lies

No one wants to hurt me

But everybody tries

And if you think that I've been waiting

For my planets to align

It's time you go on

Get your things, get up, get out

I'm doing fine, yeah yeah

Emilie Autumn, ‚Rose Red'

* * *

„Andy, would you come with me for a second? I'd like to talk."

It had been several minutes since Bella had told this to her middle sister, taken her by her arm and dragged her outside. None of her friends had complained and neither had Andy. They had walked for about 10 minutes into the estates of Hogwarts now, the evening had become really chilly, with Andy was still refraining from saying anything. Bella, equally quiet for her part, hadn't looked into her sister's face yet, she couldn't imagine it to be favorable. After Andy's outburst three weeks ago they hadn't talked to each other at all. Yet, numerous times, Andy had seen Bellatrix sneak in late into the common room after meeting up with Jean. Silently watching her, but never commenting.

At some point Bella stopped, near the lake in the different direction of the Quidditch field, far away enough from any people that might've stayed out. Finally letting go of Andy's arm, she took a deep breath and turned around.

There she stood, her sister that resembled herself so much. Often, especially when they were younger, only their slight difference in height and the lighter shade of Andy's curls and eyes told them apart. As they became older, more differences started to become apparent. Bella's slightly more pronounced facial features, Andromeda's more delicate shoulders. The most significant differences though, became apparent through their personalities. Since they were young, Andy had been the kind-hearted, motherly type on the one side, Bella the fierce and stubborn opportunist on the other side. Right now, though, regarding Andy's expression, she felt neither kind-hearted nor motherly. Bella's fierceness also left much to be desired in the moment. But it was now or never. She'd waited and contemplated this long enough.

„Andy, I am sorry." Bella said, looking her sister in the eyes for the first time since they went off together.

„Too less, too litte." Andy said, completely unimpressed. „I tell you in advance Bella, if this is everything you have to say, don't even bother."

„I know." Bella quickly answered, clenching her fists and mentally preparing for what she felt was long overdue. She quickly took a few steps in Andromeda's direction, embracing her in a tight hug.

„I messed up and I know that, okay? I am sorry I didn't talk to you until know. But I'll explain, if you let me."

Andy slightly tensed up. A few seconds of silence, then…

„…I'll listen."

Bella let go of her sister, avoiding eye-contact. It has been a while since they've been so close the last time, it was strange for both of them.

They sat down next to each other near the lake. It again took Bella a couple of seconds before she could say the following. It was almost funny how compact you could pronounce a problem that had haunted you half of your life.

„You were right." Bella said frankly. „I never really believed what our parents told us about pureblood-superiority. At least not since I attended Hogwarts."

She saw Andy flinch in the corner of her eye, but she otherwise didn't react to that revelation.

„Furthermore, I think every Slytherin who spills their so called „believes" so blantly right now is either an idiot, lying, in denial or all three of them. As I've been for the last six years."

Now Andy directed her gaze not blankly towards the grounds, but towards her older sister.

„It was easier, you know?" She continued monotonously. „Going on and on, following the flow of it was much less stressful than facing a topic that was forbidden around almost every person I've known so far. And I was able to ignore this issue just fine until recently. This changed, though." Bella sighed. „And I don't think that I can go back now."

„It's because of _her_ , isn't it? Jean Gabor."

„Yes." Bella simply said.

„How did it come to this? From what I remember, you got along like kneazles and dogs."

„Yeah, that's true. She was pretty annoying at first, to be honest. I couldn't stand her." She snickered. „And she couldn't stand me just the same way. On the other hand, though, we were equals, on a scholastic level. Maybe the first equals to each other since ever. That was, when I begrudgingly started to respect her – even if I'd never have said so."

„What changed?"

„…You remember when I played the piano as a kid?"

„Obviously. It was the last time I've seen you devastated about something when they had forbidden you to play."

It wasn't a pretty memory, that's for sure. Bellatrix' father had approached her shortly before she started to attend Hogwarts for the first time. As usual, he knew that he could find her in the smaller sitting room, where the piano stood.

„ _Bellatrix?" her father had called out to her, standing tall in the doorframe._

 _She'd started to play the piano on winter solstice five years ago, at the age of 6, when the adults were occupied with something important Bella didn't understand at that time, her sisters were still to young to play with and she was bored to hell._

„ _Yes, father?" She said, looking up from the instrument in front of her._

„ _...Are you looking forward to your new school?"_

 _„Very much so." She nodded seriously. She also knew what would be expected of her once she entered the school grounds. „I'll make sure to represent the Black-family properly in House Slytherin."_

„ _I have no doubt of that." He said. Apparently, this wasn't what he wanted to talk about. „You also know that, to maintain that and to live up to the expectations of the Black-family, you'll need your full attention regarding different aspects of your school life, right?"_

„ _Yes, father?" She said, brows furrowing. What was he getting at?_

 _„Then you'll also understand why I cant allow you to waste your time with that hobby of yours, right?"_

 _„Father, what…"_

 _„You'll need to quit the piano." He said bluntly. „It's no skill that you need as a pure-blood witch, you can just charm the piano to play, in the end. You're better of using your time for more prestigious things. Wizarding chess or even Quidditch, just something with…_ magical _value."_

 _„But…-"_

„ _No ‚but's', Bellatrix. To make sure you'll…cooperate, I'll let the elves discard this thing immediately." He waved in the general direction of the piano. „I don't understand why your mother wanted to get it in the first place. Well, go to your room now, I'll let the elves bring you some books about wizarding chess and other hobbies that are suitable for a witch of your status."_

 _With those words he left her, speechless, the last sound of her last played piece hardly faded away._

Understandably, Bella didn't particularly like this memory.

„Actually, I never stopped doing it. I've played ever since I've attended Hogwarts, whenever I sneaked out, I actually played late at night in the quireroom for myself."

When she looked at Andy after this revelation, her sister had an expression of utter surprise and her mouth was wide agape.

„ _Seriously?_ Oh my god, _Bella!_ If they ever found out and would've told our parents-„

„I know. They probably would've taken me off from Hogwarts. For the longest time, though, I didn't care. Since I also got to like Quidditch, father always thought I was satisfied with just that. And don't misunderstand, I really love Quidditch. But the piano was one of the few things that…kept me sane here. Like a counterbalance towards everything else. But one night, I got found out. By the one muggleborn I had a low-key fight with since she'd started attending this school."

„…I would take the guess she didn't reveal it to the teachers?"

„The opposite, actually." Bella said, laughing a little at the memory. „She complimented my play and said it would be okay if I hexed her, since she eavesdropped on me. Also pretty much called me a bitch for my general behavior. Well, couldn't say she was wrong, though."

„Bella…"

„Long story short, I took a chance and…talked to her. We… got closer after that. I want to stay honest, there is more, but that's something I really can't tell you right now. The main point is that, since that one day, she'd been telling me about the muggle world…" Bella smiled at her sister sadly. „And Andy, it seems to be an amazing place. Kind of a wonderland."

Andy just stared at Bella with a blank expression, that made Bella a little uncomfortable.

„Look, I am truly sorry I wasn't able to talk about this for so long but…Andy?!"

Bella stopped in her explanation when she saw tears spill from her sisters eyes. And now it was her turn to get embraced in a fierce hug.

„I am just so happy Bella…finally you can be honest with me." She let go of her older sister - or, rather, almost let go, her hands still covered Bella's shoulders in a way, that Andy held her away on an arm-length.

„What is…?"

„Therefore, I also want to be honest with you." She gulped audibly, her voice became shaky when she said her next words.

„I am dating a muggle-born. It's Ted Tonks."

Bella stiffened for a moment. A well known feeling of shock came over her for a moment, old, almost forgotten prejudices welled up and threatened to suffocate her.

„How–?"

„I really can't explain it. We've started talking last year around Halloween, first I refused, but we just clicked in a way I've never experienced before. Its nothing I ever had a choice about, I think."

There were a myriad of questions Bella could ask in that moment. The first seemed to be if Andy had lost her mind. But then, after the first moment of shock, she calmed down. She thought of Jean and what look she'd give her when she knew what Bella was thinking right now.  
But what _was_ she thinking? As fast as the feeling came, it receded again. It felt like a reflex her body reacted to, an instinct, drummed into her since she was little. It was easier when she were just talking about it with Jean, she always had the feeling they were rather staying in their own world than anything else. But now, with her sister, everything felt all to real.

„ _Mongrels."_

„ _Inferior."_

„ _Mudbloods."_

Then, she remembered something Jean had said to her a few month ago, on one of the first days the've talked with each other.

„ _You know, I think you are a lot like Belle from Beauty and the beast. No, hear me out! All the villagers were prejudiced of the beast, who, in the end, was a shining prince. Maybe the comparison is a little off, but you are the one to break through that prejudice and look behind the facade. That's quite amazing."_

How could she even judge Andy when her own life had been turned upside down by a muggle born? Bella's inner debate seemed to have taken quite a while, she felt Andy's hands held Bella's shoulders in a dead grip now. She took a deep breath, lifted her head and settled for a completely other question.

„Does he make you happy?"

„…Yeah." Andy nodded.

Bella smiled a genuine smile. „Congratulations, then."

Andy embraced her again. When Bella put her arms around her in return, her sister felt smaller than expected. She put her chin on top of Andy's curls, petting, stroking her head. She slowly felt how Andy started to shake. Then, she started to sob uncontrollably, clinging painfully to Bella's body.

„I-I am _so_ scared, Bella. Narcissa, our parents, our _family_ …"

„It'll be okay, Andy." The older Slytherin said, holding her sister close. „Somehow, it'll be okay."

They sat like that for a few minutes, until Andy slowly disengaged from Bella, drying her face with her robe.

„Are you better now?"

Andy laughed. „No. And neither are you. But we probably have never been _okay_ for the biggest part of our lives. „I'm just happy I have my sister back."

Bella didn't really know what to say to that. There was still that pang of regret she felt. How would their relationship hold in the future? But mostly, she felt the same.

„In the end, this was still thanks to her, right?" Andromeda said, but smiled at her. „Thanks to that girl, Jean, that we're able to talk right now. You've changed since you've met her. Or maybe not so much changed as that you've found something in yourself again that seemed lost."

„I…you think so?" „It's more than obvious at this point. Whatever you got going over there, hold on to it, I've missed the person you're becoming again right now for years."

 _Is she really that much of an influence to me? I guess it's true. But how much impact do I have on_ her _?_

„I also think I'd like to meet her, now." She heard her sister continue.

Bella felt slightly anxious about that request, but it made sense. So she nodded, for the moment just happy she was able to make up with Andromeda.

„I'll see to that, okay?" Andy nodded back. There seemed to be something else on her mind, though. Something less pleasant, according to her facial expression.

„Say…in regards to Jean…what about _her_? How is _she_ thinking about it?"

A cold wave washed over Bella, her stomach clenched up. _It's only natural she'd be asking, you anticipated it._

„ _She_ didn't… _talk_ to me much in the last time."

„Since you've started to spend time with Gabor?"

 _Huh? Is that so?_ Bella never really thought about it, but now that Andy said it…

„Yeah, I guess so."

„Even if it was clear enough, this settles it for me. Hold on to that girl with all your might."

With that, Andy gave Bella a kiss on the cheek and went back to the castle.

 _Regardless the situation, it's most of the time that Andy is in for a dramatic leaving, letting me behind._ Bella chuckled. Her little sister had always been a little bit of a drama queen.

* * *

„So…you told her about…well… _us_? Jean concluded a few days later, when they've met up in the quire room again. It felt a little like confessing a mistake, but regardless it was the first thing Bellatrix did. No point in keeping that from Jean.

„Well…yeah." Bella nodded. „Not everything, of course. I filled her in about how we got to know each other, but left out everything regarding Waterhouse, really."

„I believe you, don't worry." Jean sighed, and Bella felt relieved immediately. She'd been scared that Jean had a problem with filling Andy in on her secret, or rather a part of it, but she had to take the risk.

„And I understand were you were coming from. It's only natural you wanted to tell your sister."

 _Thank god._

„How about Narcissa, actually?"

„I…don't think that's necessary at this point. She's still so young…and never seemed to question anything our parents fed her up with. She's so naive…"

Jean nodded. She did seem to understand that Bella didn't want to pop the bubble yet her sister was still living in - even if it was such a twisted one.

„Did you feel better after talking to Andromeda? And did you make up after this?" Jean asked suddenly.

„Yeah to both things. She's one of the few people who I thought would understand. It was like lifting a huge weight from my shoulders."

Jean nodded. „That's a relieve, then."

„Also…Andy would like to meet you."

„Really?" Jean asked a little surprised.

„Well yeah, I think she's kind of interested. She wanted me to open up about this whole muggle-born-debate since ages. So…what do you think?" Bellatrix was a little surprised when she saw Jean considering her answer. She'd assumed that if it wasn't a problem that Andy knew about their… _acquaintanceship_ , meeting her wouldn't be a problem as well. But somehow Jean seemed uncertain about this.

„If you don't want to–„

„No, it's fine, I think, I'd like to meet her as well." Jean finally said.

Another wave of relief washed over Bellatrix. _So far so good._

„Great. We just have to decide when."

„Let's just say around the Holidays? Their wouldn't be much people in the castle in general, so meeting up with her would be easier."

Bellatrix nodded. She had come to the same conclusion earlier. „Sounds good to me, I'll let her know later."

The rest of their time went on as usual. Bella practicing on the piano, Jean reading a book next to her. A relaxing calm Bella really had come to appreciate. Being in each others company quietly had also become a part of their day-to-day lives. But as nice as this was, the time was still relentless.

„We probably should call it a day, it's gotten late enough anyway." She therefore said, while organising her piano-notes. She'd also gotten better on the piece she'd been working on for the last week. Everything summed up, it had been quite a few nice days. Maybe she even could catch Andy later to talk about her chat with Jean. „You want to meet up on Friday evening?"

„I can't, actually. Are you also free on Saturday, for a chance?"

Bellatrix looked at Jean slightly puzzled. _This hasn't happened before._ „You have an appointment?"

„Yeah, kind of, you know Talos Dawson? He is Dee's Twinbrother and asked me to tutor him in Transfiguration after the last Quidditch-match."

„Huh, why _you_?" Bellatrix asked perplexed. Jean's angered expression told her that this might not have been the correct way to ask.

„I don't know if you've _noticed_ , but I am not half-bad in transfiguration."

„Uh, I didn't mean that…"

„Apparently Dee and Hailey recommended asking me, so he approached me after the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor-match. He seemed really embarrassed about the matter and told me to take my time with deciding."

„And you…?"

„…told him the same day that I'd do it." Jean shrugged. „It's not like I don't have the time right now and I'd be helping out a friend, so no real question there."

„So he's your friend?" She wanted to slap herself as soon as she asked this. _What the heck am I saying?_

„Well, not exactly, but he's Dee's brother and…well, whatever. So, about Saturday?"

„Quidditch-Training." She said shortly.

„Oh…okay."

 _Why are you acting so weird, get it together!_

„…But only till noon, so if you're free after this…"

„Yeah, sure." Jean smiled a little.

They parted shortly after. Bellatrix waved goodbye to Jean, who went up in direction of the Ravenclaw-tower while she made her way along another corridor.

Quietly, she went down the stairs to the dungeons, musing, why she still had this strange feeling in her stomach.

" _She's getting tired of you, don't you think?"_

Bella gulped. _Shut it! I just told Andy we don't talk much anymore._

A faint cackle accompanied her until she finally reached her bed.

* * *

„Come on, one more time. And now, try moving your wrist in a fast, short circle. Not only _flapping_ it!"

„Ugh… _Avifors_." Talos moved his wand, out of the six muffins in front of them, four changed to canary birds of a rather mild yellow colour, that immediately started to fly around over their heads.

Talos looked frustrated. „It's only four again."

„Well…oooh, the fifth one has some feathers, you see?" His expression let Hermione shut up about this topic.

They've met up in an unused classroom for their first meeting, since they needed a lot of space for their spells. Talos seemed endlessly grateful for her help and had thanked her at least five times since they started.

When she'd announced to him with _what_ they would start, though, he gave her a queer look.

„‚Avifors', really? You learn that in second grade."

„Yes, but it helps me to see where your problems are through Quality and Quantity of the spell." Hermione said simply. And as far as it looked now, it had been a good Idea. He was able to cast the spell, but it somehow lacked…intensity.

„Think about it that way: If you try to hit the bludger with your bat, it's not just important _that_ you hit it, but how, with which intensity and from what angle, right?"

„Sure." Talos said, obviously annoyed by his performance.

„It's the same with transfigurations, or any magic, in general. Magical and physical force aren't so different, it's just that it's easier to foreknow the outcome with physical force. She looked up to the birds, still aimlessly circling above them. „If any of those birds would stop using their wings, they'd fall down, it doesn't matter which one. But magic, it's more complex, the caster puts, next to magical force, always a part of him- or herself in it."

„ _Remifors_ " In an instant, the birds changed back to muffins, but before they could fall down on the floor, Hermione levitated them back to the small table.

„ _Avifors_ " And again, the muffins turned into birds, six light blue jays this time, elegantly flying in a swarm-like formation above their heads."

„That's why no charm is the same, when casted by different witches or wizards. It's a more individual form of energy."

„ _Herbifors"_ The birds vanished again, changing into cornflowers, falling on the ground around them.

„So it's important you're aware of the magical force as well as your personal influence on it. If the spell lacks personality, it lacks half of it's magic."

She levitated the flowers back to the table.

„ _Remifors._ Ready for the next try?"

She turned her attention back to Talos, who apparently had stared at her. „Talos?"

He seemed to snap out of something. „I…uh…yeah, give me a second."

He took a deep breath, before exhaling slowly. His expression became serious, concentration apparent.

„ _Avifors…YES!"_ Six canaries, with different shades from yellow to orange, were flying chirpy around the room now.

Hermione nodded contently. „ _Better._ I'd guess this would be your main problem. If we focus on that, you'll be safe from McGonagall in no time."

Talos nodded. „I really hope so. I really want to beat Slytherin at least one time in this school."

„This is something you should think about later, if you look closely, two of your birds still have that chocolate-chip pattern on their feathers. And…isn't their flour coming out of this ones wings? _Accuracy and practice_ are the next important things. Again!"

„Talos audibly groaned, but Hermione only arched an eyebrow.

„ _Avifors_!" He quickly continued.

She snickered. _Clever guy._

* * *

The next day went on fairly eventless, she finished the last parts of her homework in the library and reinforced her promise with Dee and Hailey to meet up on Sunday afternoon for a ‚girls evening'. Though she had to admit she quickly got bored around noon and looked forward to meet up with Bella later that day. So it was quite early when she made her way out to the grounds in direction of the small Pavillon they've met up occasionally when both of them got tired of the quireroom.

 _It's a shame we can't meet up in normal places._ Hermione sighed, ducking her head against the strong autumn-wind that swept over the estates.

 _Well, this isn't so bad, after all._ Was her next thought when she reached the Pavillon. Even if it was cold, the place still felt somewhat special. As if it emitted a peculiar form of aura that let her feel refreshed whenever she sat down and overlooked everything from the castle over the lake to the small trail of smoke she'd forever associate with Hagrid's hut.

„Early again, Gabor?" A cheeky voice sounded from behind her a few minutes later.

Hermione, immersed in a book she wanted to pass her time with, didn't hear the other witch and jumped.

„Bella! Stop doing that." She grumbled, bending down towards the book she dropped.

„But your reactions are hilarious." Bella grinned, taking a seat next to her.

„How was your training?"

„Good, I don't think we'll have a problem against Gryffindor, even if we would stop training right now till the next game."

„Arrogance is the camouflage of insecurity, they say." Hermione said casually, putting her book back into her bag. „You should be careful." Her gaze followed that of Bella, who looked in direction of the Quidditch pitch, where the next team hat started to train. From what Hermione would guess from afar, it was Hufflepuff.

„Rich, coming from you." Bella said, following one of the distant players with her eyes. „While we're at it, how was your private lesson?"

„Quite well, actually. He's a fast learner."

„…So no chance McGonagall will hold him back after all?"

„No, I don't think so. Even after the first lesson, he improved a lot."

„That's a shame… _ouch_." Hermione had slapped Bella on her shoulder for that last comment.

„I'm sorry to _disappoint_ you, but I think we'll be finished just before Christmas."

„Hey! This was a compliment, okay? He _is_ a skilled Beater, after all."

Bella looked way to innocent after she answered, excessively rubbing her arm where Hermione had hit her, who just snorted and rolled her eyes. Then, another thing came to mind.

„Have you spoken to your sister, actually?"

„No, haven't seen her in private the last day's, our schedules aren't matching up that good this year. I've Quidditch-Training again tomorrow but I'll see her in the afternoon and planned to talk to her then. I'll let you know then.

„Oh, it's okay, take your time with her. I'm occupied on sunday either way, so tell me after class next week or so."

„Oh…okay. Is it…what are you doing?" Bella asked. She sounded casually, but Hermione couldn't help the feeling that what had a somehow strange undercurrent.

„I promised Hailey and Dee a ‚girls evening', since I've somehow neglected them… Bella, is something the matter, actually?" In the last few seconds, Bella's facial expression had changed rapidly. From a somehow slightly stricken expression, to a wide-eyed-wondering expression over something that looked like …embarrassment? Anger?

„Huh? No, it's nothing. I just tried to imagine you as a tutor right now, seems hilarious actually. Do you really think he's able to learn anything?"

Hermione blushed. „Hey! I'm quite confident in my teaching abilities!"

„Well… you _are_ kind of bossy sometimes."

„You know that I'm quite capable of transfiguring humans, right?" Hermione asked, lifting as well an eyebrow as her wand.

„No doubt."

* * *

When Hermione arrived at the girls dorm the next day in the afternoon, she was presented with a large quantity of sweets, spread all over Hailey's bed. Otherwise the room was vacant, so she used the time to take a shower and put on some comfy pajamas. Once she left the bad, she noticed that a large amount of drinks had been added to the pile of snacks, also Hailey laid next to it, an open Butterbeer bottle in her hand.

„Hi." She said, raising her bottle towards Hermione.

„Hey…thanks." She said when Hailey handed her another bottle. „We're not waiting for Dee?"

„Yeah…about Dee…she won't make it, I guess." Hailey sighed. „It's quite unfortunate…"

„Huh? What happened?"

„Well…apparently her _boyfriend_ had sent her some weird concoction he invented. He said it was for helping her staying awake – you know, since she has so many classes on Tuesday – and she had tried it this morning as some kind of test." Regarding Hailey's tone, something went wrong. _Oh no._

„Oh god, is she alright?!" Hermione asked worried, wide-eyed.

„At first it seemed fine, but later that day, she started shivering like crazy. She didn't tell me until I couldn't help to notice…I immediately urged her to go to the hospital wing and show the potion to Madame Pomfrey… she said Dee will be fine, but she'll need to stay in the Hospital wing at least this night."

„Oh god…I need to visit-"

„Don't bother, Madame Pomfrey gave her a strong calming draught and she's sleeping, I've just visited her."

Hailey sighed again, heavily. „Dee and her experiments are a menace of their own, but if combined with Phil, it _really_ gets dangerous sometimes. But she's only defending him. ‚He just wanted the best for me' and such rubbish. Ugh, I _really_ can't stand him. But well..., she loves him." Hailey shook her head a few times while Hermione still tried to figure out what to say right now. But thankfully, Hailey seemed to have decided that she wanted to talk something else. „Well, that's why we need to have as much fun as possible, since I want to rub it into Dee's face once she's awake again. Cheers!"

Hermione smiled, despite her worry for Dee. _Nothing you can do about it right now._

„Cheers. _"_

„So…Talos said your first lesson was quite successful?" Hailey asked, already opening her second bottle.

„I think so too, he's a good student, I don't thin there'll be any problems with his training." Internally, she felt pretty smug. _Told you I'm a good teacher, Bella._

„McGonagall isn't so bad, after all. For example, all of you thought she'd punish me with the transfiguration-class that one time, in the end it felt more like a reward."

Hermione sighed. „Hailey, that never was…" Suddenly, she stopped. _WAIT!_

She'd totally forgotten about the exercise Hailey got from McGonagall almost two month ago.

„ _Oh God, Hailey!_ " Hermione almost panicked.

Hailey, who had just chosen some snacks to eat, and carefully picked one from the pile next to her, dropped it immediately, shocked.

„ _What?!_ "

„Wasn't the task due weeks ago?!"

Hailey relaxed again. „Jay chill, I've already finished it."

„But…but you didn't present it in class and…"

„There was no point." Hailey shrugged. „McGonagall was happy enough when I gave her the paperwork and showed her the actual result. No need to present it."

„I…why didn't you say anything. Gosh, I'm sorry I didn't _ask_ -„

„It's not that big of a deal, Jay, really." Hailey laughed. „I would've forgotten as well if I were you, you probably have enough on your mind." That was certainly true, but she still felt guilty about it.

Now, Hailey looked kind of excited, though. „You want to see it?"

„Yeah, I'd love to." Now that Hermione remembered, she actually was kind of curious. What would Hailey transfigure that it took three weeks and would McGonagall leave content?

Hailey jumped off the bed towards her trunk, carefully pulling a small object out of it.

„I think we need a little more space." She put the object in the middle of the floor in front of their beds.

„ _One makes you larger…_ " She murmured „ _Engorgio_."

The object, earlier merely at the size of a stamp, now occupied roughly a square-meter on the floor in front of them. Hermione knelt down, looking closer at the structure that had emerged in front of her.

„Oh my…"

„As you can see, I got a little inspired from your work."

It was something that Hermione maybe had noticed distantly, what she did in the transfiguration lessen and what Hailey was showing her right now were nothing that could be compared, though.

In front of her, a small world had opened up. What looked like it was made out of some kind of stone or gem contained carefully crafted trees, rivers and houses, altogether with little humanoid and faunal additions. Hermione could see countless figures, everyone looking different and very detailed. If this wasn't impressing enough, the stone seemed to change colour somehow. There were very faint, different colors - light blue for the dress of a little girl, crimson red for an older woman that looked like she ruled in a huge castle – that strongly intensified every few moments. Hermione needed to stare at it for a few seconds until she realised what it imitated.

„A heartbeat…" She whispered. _Mesmerising_. It almost looked as if the people would move…but not only them. The whole piece looked somehow…alive. She saw Hailey smile and nod in the corner of her eye.

Somehow, Hermione realised, this whole scenery looked familiar. The girl in the light blue dress, that was rather prominent in the whole construct, stood in front of a rabbit that stood on two paws, holding a pocket watch in his left front paw. She almost missed the grinning cat in a short distance from them, more translucent than the rest of the piece. The closer she looked, the more certain she got.

„Is that…?" Hermione whispered in awe.

„The world of Alice in Wonderland, yeah." Hailey said contently. „Had to re-read the novel to get it as accurate as possible."

„Hailey…it's beautiful. What did you make this of?"

„A pebble."

„You're kidding, right?"

„Not in the slightest."

„Oh my gosh, _Hailey_ , this is…truly, _truly_ wonderful magic."

„Thank you, Jay." Hailey said, she seemed to appreciate the compliment. „It wasn't as easy as I imagined first, for the paper to be to McGonagalls standard I had to spend quite some time in the library.

Hermione's mind, that had been occupied by the _Wonderland_ in front of her, painfully flinched back to reality.

It had been a while since she'd been alone like that with Hailey. She gulped, her own heartbeat now almost painfully fast. _Now or never, Hermione._

„Uhm, Hailey? Can I ask you something?"

„Sure?" Hailey said nonchalantly while shrinking her work again, storing it back into her trunk.

She sat down on her bed, leaning back on her arms. „What's wrong?"

It was that moment when Hermione fully understood something about Hailey she'd been vaguely aware of for a while. Her composure was just a bit _too_ relaxed, just that tad _too_ cheerful to be completely real. It was truly a lot more behind that extroverted girl Hermione had come to know…or did she, actually? What exactly _did_ she know about the girl in front of her?

Hailey had anticipated these turn of events, that much was clear.

Right now, Hermione realised for the first moment, just why Hailey Ashmore had _not_ been sorted into Hufflepuff in the first place.

 _How much of her steps did she actually calculate? I feel like there is something I'm missing about her, I just can't pinpoint it._

„Why did you cover for me?" She decided for the most obvious question, at least in her opinion.

Hailey was silent for a while. She pursed her lips, regarding Hermione with a deliberating look.

„Why, indeed. What do _you_ think?"

 _No clear answer. But at least she's not denying it._

„If I knew, I wouldn't be asking. It doesn't make sense! If you'd just tell me if you want something…"

Hailey looked at her blankly, then, a strange bland smile covered her lips.

„This, Jean, is the single most hurting thing you've ever said to me."

Hermione's stomach cramped when she realised she actually managed to hurt Hailey. She has often seen her frustrated, annoyed or embarrassed – all of them the one time the _Agnus Sythicus_ hat managed to hit her – but this time it was different. That one had apparently hit deep.

„Hailey, I didn't mean-"

„There is exactly one reason why I've – as you call it – _covered_ for you. That's because we're _friends_."

„Hailey-…"

„No, you listen now. Since I may have been the only one seeing it like that. When I first realised you hid something, I thought you'd come around sooner or later, to tell us, if needed. And if not, that would _also_ be okay. We are friends, but we don't need to know everything about each other. But then, that evening happened where Dee asked if we'd seen each other in the Library and I… _covered_ for you. I saw the scared expression on your face. I actually thought this would reassure you and make you feel safer, but apparently, it _didn't._ You just grew more and more uneasy around me, without ever confronting me. That _hurt_ , Jay. I never did anything that would let you question my loyalty, didn't I? And that question right now, about what I _want_ , was an even harder slap."

Hermione stared at her with big eyes, letting sink in what the girl in front of her had said a few seconds ago.

Somehow, it was the moment Hermione remembered something that Bellatrix had said to her on one of their first talks.

„ _You didn't betray me when I hadn't put any trust in you in the first place."_

 _I also should learn from Bellatrix about her ability to trust._

Once again, the weight of her current situation crashed down on her.

How could she not have grown paranoid? Living in a time where she didn't belong, in a new house with new people. Needed to make a secret of herself completely, her best friend being a future death eater, known for torture and murder, despite being so much like herself it scared her sometimes. The world had become too fast for Hermione to keep up, moving so erratic that she didn't know when she'd finally fall. She _did_ shut herself out more than she thought, being wary of everything, non-trusting at all. Since she'd spend so much time with Bellatrix, with which she had a secret of her own that she could concentrate on, she just had been able to ignore the elephant in the room for as long as possible.

Because how could she be able to trust anyone if none of them could actually trust her in the first place?

‚ _If they're not trustworthy, It's okay if I'm not'? Is_ that _my subconscious thinking here?_

She felt how tears started to slip from her face. She felt incredibly guilty towards the girl in front of her right now.

 _How could I accuse her of calculating just like hat?_

She hadn't cried for quite some time, now. _Funny, how unfamiliar tears feel by know._

Hermione was able to think before she broke down completely, covering her head with her arms.

„Hailey…I…it's just too much."

She heard Hailey move and her own bed shifting as she scooted over, hugging Hermione tight into her arms.

„Shh…it's okay."

„No, it's not. It's really, really, actually not."

„Do you want to talk about it?"

„Yes…but I can't."

For a while, they sat like this – Hailey holding Hermione, making soothing noises towards the sobbing girl. Then, Hailey did something that caught Hermione completely off guard, but also made her stop crying out of surprise. She kissed her on the forehead.

„There, there, little one. Is the pain all better now?"

It was completely silly and goofy. And exactly what Hermione needed to laugh right now. She nodded. "Yeah. Thank you."

„I can't take all of your worries away, of course. I just want you to know, I _still_ think we're friends."

„I think so too." Hermione said meekly. „I'm truly sorry. For everything."

„It's okay, really. Also, I mean it, you don't _have_ to tell me about your secrets, it's okay." Hailey nodded, more to herself. „I just want you to know, that, if you ever need me, I'm here."

„Okay…thank you."

„Let us talk about something else for the reminder of the night." She entangled from Hermione and urged her to drink up her Butterbeer… just to get them two new ones. "For example…please be a little more precise about your lesson with Talos. Did he fail miserably at first? Please tell me something good, I need something new to make fun of him."

„Actually, he didn't." Hermione said giggling. „And it would be kind of unfair to gossip about his transfiguration skills. Not to mention that there really isn't anything to gossip about. He really is a good listener and eager student."

Hailey wiggeled her eyebrows at her suggestively. „You seem to like him."

Hermione was flustered „What? No, just as a friend, really! I mean, even if I would, I know about you two, so-„

„Huh?" Hailey interrupted, puzzled. "You know exactly _what_ about us?"

„Well, from your behavior I gathered that there was something going on between you, and it might was a sensitive subject or something. I didn't plan to butt in or ask because of that. So, you really don't need to worry about... me...„

Hailey had looked at her perplexed, then understanding dawned on her face, while the knowing look that Hermione sported gradually started to dwindle until it was replaced by confusion. Then, Hailey broke out into a giggling fit.

„Okay, I can actually _see_ where you're coming from – but I'm afraid you got it pretty much the –how to put it – _wrongest_ way you could it get. But I understand _how_ it happened. I guess we really should work on how we speak to each other." Hailey seemed to contemplate for a moment, then shrugged and started to search for something in a bag she fetched from under her bed. After a moment she produced something out of it that looked like a purse to Hermione. The Brunette watched perplexed how Hailey opened it, took something out and gave it to her. It was a picture of Hailey, together with a girl Hermione had never seen. Both grinned in the camera like Cheshire cats, cheeks pressed together tightly.

„Jay, may I introduce my girlfriend to you?"

* * *

whoop whoop, that major twist, did anybody anticipate it? No, yes, maybe? I at least loved the mixed feelings you all got about Talos. So..did I mix them up again? :

On another quote, I should warn you, I think. The next Chapter will largely be about Hailey's history. I know that putting too much emphasis on non-canon Characters is a sensible subject in fanfiction, but I've got the feeling - not at least through the reviews - that it might be a good Idea to explain some things throughly And I think that should've been increases due to this chapter.

It wasn't even planned, but still, I feel like I've good reasons to do it and so I will. *Sorrynotsorry*

Well, I'm totally exhausted right now, so sorry if I made some major grammar-mistakes, but I just can't be bothered right now, I'm just happy that I'm finished with reasonably editing it. So..see you later, then!

Reviews:

celtbhoy: Thanks for your compliment, appreciate it! :) Hope you had fun with the new chapter!

queenofevilsmirks: I also missed the story, believe me! :D Happy to be back with it.

Also, I didn't intend to leave Judaism out. I deliberately wrote „some", since it's not really possible to cover everything in about the 10 minutes I imagined them to have this part of the conversation. :) And what do you think, did this chapter hit it with the sub-plot? :D Its still a little time until the next Quest. I can't really pile them up, can I? :D waterproof88: Wow, Danke dir! :) Super nice, zu hören, solche Atmosphären schaffen zu können - ist ja nicht so, dass ich vorher schonmal fanfic geschrieben hätte :D

MilandaAnza: Happy you appreciate the update :D For Bella's and Hermione's relationship to be public I'll have to see. Well, after this chapter, at least one other person knows about it. But I have to admit, that this probably won't be the focus of the next chapters.^^

DarkSnow3: So…any changes in any opinion about any character..maybe? :D I love your reviews so much, I can really feel your excitement regarding the story. Feels awesome! :) (Btw, what do you think about the next chapter mainly being about Hailey? Yay or nay?)

KSR: There you go, was the sister-talk to your liking? No need to thank me, btw, I really appreciate your reviews, you've no idea how interesting and rewarding it is for me to read them! (well, maybe I'm saying that because I don't really got any reviews that absolutely didn't like the story and at that time I'll change my mind again, haha). On another matter, I almost feel bad for playing with your feelings towards Talos, but well…just almost :D

Solsticio21: Thank you so much, I'm flattered! Hope you enjoyed this chapter just as much :)

Knightinshinningarmor: Did this help? :D Sorry not sorry, this story will continue it's pace ;) Appreciate your compliment!


	16. Chapter 16

Okaaaay. Well, this is awkward. It's been so long. And I am obviously totally sorry and just hope the interest in this story hasn't faded completely! Real life just got in the way, so to say. (Some neat experiences I was actually able to use for this story, for what it's worth) Also, I just wasn't happy with some parts of the chapter until about two days ago, when I finally could pinpoint what was bothering me. So since I'm now more or less satisfied, I feel confident enough to share! Have fun :)

* * *

Ch. 16 – The Tortoise and the Hare.

„And if you go chasing rabbits

And you know you're bound to fall

Well, tell 'em a hookah, a smoking caterpillar

Has given you the call

Call Alice when she was just small."

Jefferson Airplane, White Rabbit.

* * *

 _10\. Juli 1965_

Slowly, the girl freed the small box from the shiny and stiff cellophane that was wrapped around it tightly. She took one of the sticks out of the box and sniffed it suspiciously.

 _Ugh, nasty!_

Twirling the cigarette in her hand, a sigh left er mouth.

„This is a stupid Idea." She murmured to herself. Despite that, she took out a lighter from her pocket. Clicking it a few times as to make sure that it was working. She inspected both of the items a last time, put the cigarette into her mouth and moved the lighter towards her–

„ _Heidi! HEIDI, wo bist du_?!"

It was an understatement to say the girl was startled when a desperate cry sounded right next to her, as someone emerged from around the corner that she had hid behind. A few seconds ago, she had been seated comfortably on a small stonewall that was surrounded by hedges and some trees, protected from the direct sight of the street. But in an instant she had dropped both the cigarette and the lighter and fell off of the wall with a rather unhealthy _Kkkkrrrk_ emerging somewhere from the direction of her knees.

The next thing she knew was that there was another strong force from the right when she had just started to comprehend the situation, letting her topple over a second time. Apparently, that other someone who produced the sound earlier had managed to trip over her, bringing both of them to the ground completely.

„ _Oww_!"

„ _Autsch, verdammt! Oooh, das tut mir leid, alles okay bei dir?!_ " A girl about her own age laid next to her, a pained expression on her face and holding her shoulder. The way she had apparently pinned her long, brown hair up didn't last during her fall and started to untangle itself. It completed her look of utter confusion and perplexity. A feeling her opposite could relate to very well right now.

„ _What_?" _Is she speaking another language? Or did I actually hurt my head?_ „Uuh.. _sorry_?"

„Ooh, _right_ , sorry!" The brunette said, giving herself a small face palm. „I still sometimes forget to speak english. Are you okay?"

„More or less, I think." The girl said, giving her body a check up by doing a few quick stretches. Slight pain in the knees, otherwise she felt alright.

„How about you?" She questioned back, slowly standing up again.

„Everything okay." The other one assured, gratefully taking the offered hand to stand up as well. For a moment they looked at each other, unsure what to do next, until the brown-haired-girls eyes widened, as if she remembered something important. She strengthened her grip before jerking her hand away, sweeping both of her hands through her hair.

„Again, I'm _really_ sorry, but I'm kind of in a dilemma right now and need to hurry." The brunette said apologetically.

„What's the problem?" _Uh, that's butting too much into her business, isn't it? Why did I even ask?_

„I…I lost my turtle." The girl admitted, rather sheepishly. A faint blush started to build on her cheeks.

Despite the worried expression on the brunettes face, the girl had to laugh out loud at this.

„You lost your _turtle?_ How is that even _possible_?"

„I fell asleep in our yard." She huffed, the red in her cheeks deepened. „And when I woke up, she wasn't there anymore. I searched all over the house but I couldn't find her, so I wanted to look around the streets near my house, I live really close by." She grimaced and crossed her arms in front of her chest. „I'm aware that turtles can't walk _far."_

The girl still giggled a little when she stretched her shoulders for a final time and had cracked her neck audibly.

„What's your name?" _Seems like a legit question at this point._

„Alissa Haase."

 _Not a British name, logically. I wonder where she's from…what she spoke earlier didn't sound like Italian oder Spanish to me…also not French, I guess. But she looks European, I think?_

„Alright,… _A-lisa_. I'll help you search." _First things first._

„Wha… _Really_?" Alissa asked, surprise obvious in her voice. „Yeah, I got nothing better to do either way and I've lived in this neighborhood for years, maybe I can help." She shrugged.

„Oh…wow…thank you! You're a lifesaver!"

With that, one of the more awkward social interactions started for both of them. Not everyday you go for a search of a lost reptile with a random stranger. They looked around for a while, without speaking much in the mean time, both just contemplating the weirdness of their situation. After a while, the helper couldn't bear the awkward silence anymore and when they turned around the corner of the next crossroad, she asked the first thing that came to her mind.

„Actually, don't you mean _tortoise?"_ Pursing her lips in thought _. „_ A turtle surely wouldn't walk around much, right? Since, mostly living in the water and such."

„Well, I'm sorry, I'm not a native speaker." Alissa huffed and turned her head away from the hedge she was inspecting to look at the other girl. „I just moved here with my parents so I'm still not really fluent."

„Where are you from?" Her curiosity was piqued again, since she still could neither place her mother tongue nor her accent.

„I'm from Germany, we moved into the neighborhood about two month ago. So, I'm still learning."

„Ooh, you're only half-bad I guess." She tried to joke with the other girl. Alissa managed a half-smile after that, but the stress in her expression couldn't be clouded over by that. The girl finally decided to stop her teasing and wanted to calm the foreign girl.

„It's okay, we'll find her, I'm sure of it. This neighborhood is pretty calm, there's not much to do around this time of the year, most people are on vacation or something. There's not much that could happen to a tortoise here." She tried to reassure her. _Well, who would've thought I would go searching for a turt..ugh, tortoise right now with a stranger? Life is_ hella _strange sometimes._

Alissa didn't seem completely convinced by that, but nodded regardless. Then, the furrow between her brows deepened. „Actually, what _have_ you been doing before I ran into you? Did…did you just sit there?" The brunette furrowed her brows.

„I was…smoking." She mumbled and tried not to sound like she was _confessing_ something here, looking left and right for a sign of the small animal as intensely as possible.

She wasn't really paying attention to Alissa in front of her, so she directly ran into the girl that suddenly had stopped in her tracks, almost falling down for a third time this day.

She probably did anticipate some sort of reaction, but surely nothing like that. This was the first time since they've met that the thought of the animal seemed to have completely vanished from Alissa's mind.

„Are you _stupid_? You're too young! It's unhealthy and gross. Why would you do something like that? Wouldn't your parents get angry?"

With an open mouth she regarded the brunette, that had completely shifted her focus, deliberating her with an unhappy expression. This change of situation left her stunned.

 _Who is that girl to judge me like that? I even help her searching that damn turtle…ugh, tortoise!_

„Just because." She snapped. „And my parents aren't even home often, so I'd just assume they don't _care_!"

„I'm _pretty_ sure they do…uh!" Alissa's expression shifted again, from afflicted to confused this time.

„Something on my face?"

Alissa ignored the slight jab, shaking her head in disbelief. „I actually forgot to ask your name back, oh my god, how…uh…impolite, is that the word? Yeah, _impolite_ of me! What's your name?"

 _This really is all kinds of weird, ugh._

„Hailey Ashmore."

„Well then, _Hailey_ , smoking just isn't a good Idea. Neither for us, nor for older people, actually." Alissa said with a stern voice, obviously getting over her embarrassment rather quick.

„Well, since it's so important to you, I didn't _actually_ do it, since you knocked me down before I could start, okay?" _Why am I even defending myself?!_

„Oh…well, then it really was a good thing I did that." At that though, Alissa genuinely smiled for the first time.

* * *

„And that was the first time that we met." Hailey finished the story, sitting on Hermione's bed with a fond smile on her face. „We actually managed to find that damn tortoise – bit me countless times since then. Once tried to dispose her at a Chinese restaurant, but Alice caught me in the process. It hid in the strawberries of the neighbors garden that day, didn't even make it 10 meters away! The owner wasn't happy about it, though, even less about me stalking around in their yard, grabbing that damn excuse for a pet."

Hermione had, by now, somehow overcome the shock that almost everything she thought had discovered about the girl in front of her in the last few month apparently had been completely wrong. It didn't happen often to her, but she was at a loss for words right now, thoughts connecting and twirling in her mind, as she figured out how to react to that whole bunch of new information that Hailey had shared so freely with her.

„I…uh, so you really have a girlfriend?" _Yes, definitely what I was aiming for. Well done!_

„Well…yeah." Hailey shrugged, eyeing Hermione from the corner of her eye. „Is…I didn't think that was a problem for you?"

„I…what?" The brunettes eyes widened, shaking her head quickly. „God, Hailey, of course not. Not in the slightest! It's just…well, so sudden to hear this while I was completely convinced there was something going on between you and Talos."

Hailey nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. „Yeah, I see why you'd think that. Talos and Dee… well both of them are like siblings to me by now, so we've a pretty carefree way around each other. Really, I see where you're coming from and I'm not offended, obviously." She chuckled. „If I'm completely honest, somewhere, at some point, we actually _had_ something like crushes on each other, but never acted on it." Hailey continued, pursing her lips. „It was actually pretty stressful, since we started bitching at each other for no apparent reason sometimes, drove Dee almost insane."

 _Huh? Wait…_

„Really…best thing ever that this went up in smoke and we just came over it." Hailey finished her thoughts, shrugging.

„ _What_?!" Hermione had said that with a little more pressure than intended, but it struck a nerve with her. „I…I mean it's lovely that you're happy with your girlfriend, but don't you think it could've worked out…with…ugh, sorry, that's probably a weird question."

Hailey nodded. „It is, but none I didn't get asked or, at some point, asked myself. And I came, on the one hand, to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter anymore. On the other hand, I actually doubt it. Look, we're great as friends, obviously, we've our own dynamic and that is awesome, but…" She sighed. „If you both tiptoe around each other for so long without any progress, it may just isn't meant to be." She shrugged. „It at least proofed true for me. „She started to smile a litte." With Alice, It was different. I was nervous as hell, obviously. But there had never been a stronger desire in me than to overcome my nervousness and at least try… you know? For her." She winced a little. „Oooh, that sounded sappy. If you ever meet Alice, don't tell her I said something like this."

Hermione felt a strange, burning sensation in her stomach, as if it was cramping. But she answered Hailey's sheepish smile with a chuckle of her own. „I won't promise…but, if it's okay to ask, you called her Alice right now, right? But you said she introduced herself as A...Alis-sea?"

„Haha, exactly that's the problem, isn't it?" Hailey laughed. „I couldn't pronounce her name at all in the beginning. Drove her insane. Let me tell you…"

* * *

 _25 Juli 1965._

„Al-lisa?"

„Oh Hailey come on. It's not _that_ difficult!" Alissa paced up and down in front of Hailey, a frustrated look in her eyes.

It had been two weeks since the ‚Tortoise-Accident', how Hailey referred to it in her mind. She and Alissa didn't say goodbye after finding the brunettes pet, but had hung out almost everyday with each other from that afternoon on. School conveniently started late for both of them, so they enjoyed their free days around the neighborhood fully. Hailey had shown Alissa around a lot, helping her with language-difficulties, learning a few german words in return. And if Hailey had learned one thing in the last days, than it was that she loved to tease the foreign girl next to her. Well, she actually couldn't pronounce her name for good, but she wasn't so sure if she would do so even if she would've been able to.

Hailey tried a couple more times, but Alissa wasn't happy with it.

„It's not even particularly _german_ , it almost sounds like „Alice", which you can surely say."

„Well, I should just call you Alice then."

„How would you feel if I'd call you „Sieglinde", because I was to lazy to learn your name?"

„I wouldn't really care, go on, call me like that." Hailey grinned, while Alissa made a face. She _really_ enjoyed it to tease the girl, after all.

„Nah, it doesn't suit you." Alissa sighed and sat down next to Hailey on the wooden bench in the small park they usually hung out together.

„Nobody's called that anymore."

„So, what are we doing today, _Alice_?" Hailey asked, emphasizing the last word.

Alissa rolled her eyes, but suddenly, frowned a little. „Hailey…, don't you want to spend time with your other friends once in a while, actually? You're probably bored with only me…" A flash of insecurity passed Alissa's face. „You don't have to hang around the ‚new girl' all the time."

If she was honest, Hailey didn't even think about that until now. „Huh, why would you think that? No, most of the people I know went on a holiday right now. Also, I'm…visiting a school rather far from here, so it's difficult to stay in touch most of the time. Most of my friends I'll see in school soon enough."

„Oh, so you're visiting a boarding school? How is it there, how strange is it to _live_ in your school? I can't really imagine."

„Its convenient, actually. Since my parents aren't home often, it's the perfect compromise. I actually really love it there."

„Seriously? what's your favorite subject, then?"

„…Arts." Hailey said, after a moment what probably looked like contemplating to Alissa.

The brunette laughed. „This sounds more like the answer of a lazy student that doesn't want to study something more complicated. Or do you want to become an artist later?"

„Actually, I was thinking something along those lines. My grades actually are quite good. Well, _except_ for po-…chemistry" Hailey defended herself. _Heck, I am a Ravenclaw, after all._

That left Alissa a little stunned. „Really? An _artist_? So you're like…good at drawing?"

„I plan on a little different form of art…but yeah, I _can_ draw a little."

Alissa looked at her with utmost excitement after that statement. „That is _so_ cool! Do you think you could draw Heidi?"

„Your tortoise?" Hailey laughed. „I expected you to ask if I would draw _you."  
_

„I'm not _that_ self-absorbed!" Alissa grumbled, her cheeks showing a faint blush of pink. „But I'd really like to have a drawing from you."

„Why?" _Ugh, that sounded strange._

Alissa smiled. „So that I have something to remember you. You're my first friend here in England, but I know that you'll have to leave in two months for school. It'll become pretty lonely here, so I need something that reminds me of you. Even more since you said it's difficult to stay in contact."

Hailey blushed a little, she really wasn't used to compliments like that. She quickly tried to regain her composure.

She looked over Alissa with an overly-dramatic, scrutinising look. The browned-haired girl grinned and stuck out her tongue at Hailey's antics. In the few weeks they've spent together so far, she'd come to realise that Alissa was a rather pretty girl, she just didn't make it too obvious through her style. And she was exceptionally pretty when she smiled. Hailey came to the conclusion that she'd pretty much like to draw her.

„Alright, fine. I'll draw you _and_ your pet. Together." Alissa lit up with a smile again. _Yes, perfect._

„Seriously?"

„Yeah." Alissa clapped her hands together in glee, then engulfed Hailey in a big hug. Hailey stiffened for a moment, not used to affection from other people than Dee or Talos. Quickly enough, she relaxed, awkwardly patting the back of the other girl.

„Ooooh, this will be so great, I know it!"

„Don't exaggerate, really." Hailey contemplated for a moment. „My parents aren't home tomorrow, want to come over then?" Alissa nodded excitedly, still sporting that huge grin. _God,_ w _hy is she_ so _happy about that?_

„Just don't loose your pet on the way, happens a lot these days."

„Funny…really."

 _That never gets boring._

* * *

„You sure? Isn't that a lot of work?" Alissa asked for what felt like the 100th time.

They sat in Hailey's room, both on her bed, facing each other. Alissa sat with her legs under her, trying to balance the surprisingly agile tortoise on her knees. All too often it tried to escape it's destiny, but Alissa put her back firmly on her lap every time. Hailey rolled her eyes at the repetitive question. „Nah, it's fine. It's a nice idea, actually, I needed to practice a little anyway. Now sit still, I need to concentrate."

Hailey had decided on a simple pencil drawing. Portraits weren't her speciality in the first place and she didn't feel comfortable with oil or acryl. It would take to long either way. It was a curious thing. Hailey had seen Alissa for almost every day those last weeks, so she obviously knew how she looked like. If you were about to draw someone, you needed to spend specific attention to things you simply won't notice in day-to-day life. Alissa's hair wasn't just brown, it had the color of mahogany. It wasn't actually straight, it had a soft curl just above her shoulder.

She wasn't just _pretty_ , she was–

„What should I do right now?"

Hailey snapped out of her thoughts, blinking a few times. _What the hell was that?_

„Uhm…just sit down there comfortable. If that's working, just stay like you are right now, actually."

So Hailey sat down with her sketch pad and pencil in her lap, cross-legged in front of Alissa, who was now lovingly stroking Heidi's shell.

„I'll never understand why you got a tortoise for a pet." Hailey drawled, placing the first few streaks on the paper in her lap.

„I think it's cute." Alissa said nonchalantly.

„Uh-huh. You know there're also animals that…I don't know, can actually _do_ something? Birds, Rats, Cats, Rabbits…basically anything is more entertaining."

„I like its calm." Alissa said determined. „And I never said I didn't like the others. I love _all_ animals."

„Huge spiders?" Hailey offered, lifting up her eyebrows.

„Also them, obviously." Alissa said, as if it _really_ was the most obvious thing in the world.

„Right, now you've lost me… on hindsight, any other animal than a tortoise would've been long gone by now. You couldn't match an animal with real skills there. Just imagine, catching an animal with more than four legs!"

„Oh, shut _up!"_

„No, you shut up." Hailey grinned. „And stay still, I am drawing you, remember?"

For the next hour, there wasn't much conversation. Hailey drew, while Alissa tried to sit as calmly as possible while holding the small tortoise in her arms. Hailey also paid attention to not let her thoughts wander again. Finally, she was finished and reasonably satisfied with her work.

„Done. What do you think?" She said, turning the finished drawing for Alissa to inspect it.

The girl sat still for a moment, Hailey already started to get nervous, when…

„Wow…I…I am not that pretty, Hailey." The girl said in awe, having a look of wonder on her face as she regarded the picture, which let Hailey feel a little embarrassed.

„I just drew what I saw, really. You're to modest. So…you like it?" Hailey asked worryingly. Alissa's huge grin reappeared, now she seemed to become really giddy, actually jumping up and down a little while still sitting on the bed.

„Like? Hailey, I _love_ it!" She said, letting herself fall on her back, placing her hands over her face, letting out a small squeal.  
"Danke, danke, danke! Du bist _großartig_!" Alissa added in glee, sitting up again, moving closer to take the picture in her hands and kissing Hailey on the cheek in the process.

That moment, Hailey's heart skipped a beat. It was the combination of that kiss and Alissa's joy, that apparently was big enough to let her temporarily forget the english language again.

 _I think I got what she wanted to say._

* * *

„That was pretty much how I fell in love with her, I guess." Hailey mused. „Even if I didn't realise that until a while later. Just in hindsight, you know?" She started to giggle. „I got a lot better in drawing since that, but that old picture is still in her room."

Hermione had listened fascinated to Hailey's antics about her girlfriend. Hailey had a good way of telling stories, so she kind of felt like she'd been there with them, as if she also slowly got to know the other girl.

„In the next two months, we spent almost every minute with each other. Mostly at my house, since we had privacy there. At some point, I was invited over dinner from her parents, since they wanted to meet me." The Ravenclaw said, chewing on a chocolate-bar contently. „It was nice, but it's really difficult if they ask you a ton of questions over your school when you're actually not allowed to tell them anything. The worst part was when they asked for the _name_ of the school."

„What did you say?"

Hailey firmly looked at the ceiling. „..St. McGonagalls School."

Hermione spluttered a little beer out of her mouth after hearing this. Coughing, she shook her head. „ _What_?!"

„It was the only thing I could make up on the whim." Hailey admitted, cheeks a little blushed.

„They wanted to know so much…ugh. I know it was only meant friendly, showing interest in me, but it was _so_ difficult, I tell you…"

Still snickering, Hermione replied. „I can imagine. I am really happy that muggle-borns don't need to hide it from their parents…this would've been the total horror."

Hailey nodded affirmative, taking another swig from her beer.

„I told her at some point, actually."

„What?..You did… _what_?!"

Hailey shook her head slowly from left to right.

„I know what you're thinking now…you probably never had the situation where you needed to tell any other muggles than your parents Jay, right?"

„…No." Hermione admitted. This was true, even in her real timeline.

„Hailey nodded, as if she expected that. „That just makes sense, since its nothing you normally have to go through often. You're probably aware of the regulations the ministry of magic has on telling muggles about the wizarding world. Obviously you have, since the teacher that comes to your home, handing the letter and explaining everything to muggle-borns also visited you, I guess. Was it also McGonagall with you, actually, even if you didn't go to Hogwarts in the end?" „Yeah." Hermione nodded. Even if it was in another timeline, this one was also true. Hermione could still remember the situation clearly. The stern, elderly woman that sat in their living room, looking in the faces of her parents, who were changing their expression from unbelieving to scared to accepting so many times in the two hours McGonagall needed to explain how their daughter was different from so many other children. And _how_ scared they were, when McGonagall let her empty teacup float to show them magic for the first time. _Controlled_ magic and not the accidental slips of this force they often couldn't explain about the life of their daughter.

Hermione remembered that she mostly felt awestruck. She had always been a person of logic, even as a small child. Still, der had been a part of herself she had never been able to explain with pure logic. How somehow the pages of some of her books seemed to change on their own, for example, opening exactly the page she wanted to read. Or how her favorite pen never seemed to run out of her favorite greenish ink. The feeling that a person that looked as sane and competent as possible, even for her rather strange clothing, gave her the evidence with that simple gesture of a floating cup. She would've been more doubtful if she hadn't experienced something like this on her own for her whole life, but as it were then, she understood more about herself in those few hours than she had for the last years.

So, she felt relieved. And she had wanted to know _more_. She had been _curious._ She snapped out of her thoughts when Hailey started to talk again.

„For me, the physical distance was the trigger to realise how I felt about her. I started contemplating conversations we had weeks ago, thinking I did something embarrassing that time. Re-lived the strangest situations, interpreting things back and forth…I was a mess. Whenever I thought of her, that churn in my stomach returned…I couldn't even _eat_ properly. Talos flat out thought I was ill, while Dee understood pretty fast what my problem was. …It was the time she started going out with Phil, so she could relate…"

„Safe to say, I missed her like crazy while I was in Hogwarts. Who would've thought I would count the days until I could go home again? It was pretty much in my first week here that I realised my feelings, since I've never missed anyone so much in my life before. Dee had to listen to all of my rambling until she pretty much couldn't handle it anymore." Hailey chuckled. „It's safe to say she was a little relieved to not have me around for a few weeks around Christmas. And I say „safe" because she _actually_ told me so."

* * *

 _22\. December 1965_

When Hailey exited the Hogwarts-Express, she took her time to say goodbye to Dee, Talos and her other friends before slowly walking up to her parents. „Hi Mom, hi Dad, I-."

Before she could say anything else, she was tugged in a tight embrace from both of her parents.

„Oh dear, It's so good to have you back!" Her mother sighed.

 _It's not like you're often here during the time I actually_ am _here._ Hailey thought, but had to smile a little. „It's nice to be back." She meant it. And not only because she could see Alissa again.

They rescheduled the smalltalk for their car ride. The small suburban area of Liverpool where they lived was approximately four hours away from London, so they had a lot of time while they would drive.

Hailey started to fill her parents in on the essentials of her school year. Even if they didn't understand everything, they surely tried, which Hailey appreciated.

„So…" Hailey started. „How about this years Christmas? What is the plan? Do I stay with Grandma, or…?" Hailey asked reluctantly. Her parents still hadn't told her about their acute plans for the Holidays. Since they usually were rather busy with their job around the Holidays as well, she often had to stay at other places for Christmas, often with her Grandma. They got along nicely enough, but it left a bitter aftertaste for three years in a row, not to see her parents on that occasion.

Of course Hailey had known even before she met Alissa the first time that her parents _did_ care about her, loved her more than anything. She still felt sour about them being away so often, she couldn't help it. But her perspective had at least shifted since she had met the other girl. The underlying grudge she felt about it, which prompted her into childish acts of rebellion like smoking, had slowly vanished over the summer, only leaving a little sadness about their short time together.

„Well, _actually_ …" Hailey's father said while holding his gaze onto the street. „We're celebrating Christmas together this year, as a family. As it should be."

„Wha…seriously?" Hailey said, a little louder than she had planned.

„Hailey, we're so sorry we're always so busy." Her mother sighed. „It's not fair to you, we know that. But that's why we rescheduled everything else. We have some meetings after Christmas we need to attend, but we're home for most of your visit." „She turned her head so smile warmly at her daughter. „And we intend to keep it like that in the future." „Oh…thats… _wow_." Hailey didn't know exactly what to say. She looked out of the window instead, a smile slowly building on her face.

 _Maybe everything will be alright?_

They arrived home in the late evening, after traveling so far and actually talking a lot with her parents, Hailey wanted nothing more than eating, taking a quick shower and falling into her bed.

Her parents just filled her in on their plans for the next few days over a quick dinner. For the next days, they would go on some smaller trips in the morning, only to be back soon enough to cook together, watch a movie or play boardgames. They really tried to make up to her this Christmas, as it seems. _It's actually really sweet_ , Hailey thought later in her room, when she dried her hair and looked out of her window, taking in the sight of her rather calm neighborhood she grew up in. It had long become dark outside, the lanterns lightening up the area just enough to see the streets.

„ _I guess I can stop by at Alissa's tomorrow afternoon, right? It's rather late now and it would probably be kind of pushy to go there_ now."

She was debating that with herself when she could have the right timing to say hello to her friend when she saw a figure moving along the street, hurrying in the direction of her house.

 _No way._

„Mom, Dad? I'm going out for a few minutes!"

„Alright, but not for too long, you hear? It's already so late…" Her mother called from the living room. Hailey had already ripped open the door and almost collided with Alissa, who had just raised her hand to ring their doorbell. They stared at each other for a few seconds.

„Hailey." Alissa said with a warm smile. It let the blondes heart skip a beat.

„Uh…hey, Alice." She tried to compose herself. „How are-"

It almost felt like a deja vu from this afternoon, when Alissa didn't let her finish the sentence she didn't think through in the first place to embrace her in a tight hug. But not quite the same, since she could feel herself blush a deep crimson, her heart suddenly beating like crazy. _That's_ so _unfair of her._

„You want to come in?" Was the only thing Hailey could manage to say when Alissa finally let go of her. Even if she was already missing the warmth, she also appreciate to be able to breathe again.

„I know it's totally could outside, but would you mind to go for a walk? I think I'm to giddy to sit still right now" Alissa said. She still was a little out of breath, it seemed like she had stormed over.

„Sure, why not. I told my parents I would go out anyway." She said, closing the door behind her.

„Uh…did you want to go somewhere, am I keeping you from something?" Alissa asked now, suddenly genuinely confused.

Hailey chuckled. „I actually didn't plan to, I just saw you coming towards my house, so I thought I would greet you." Hailey confessed. Then added. „I'm glad to see you again."

„You better." Alissa scolded jokingly. "I want to hear everything about your school start. And tell you everything that happened for me. Ugh, I _swear_ , school gets harder every year…"

They started right off where they left off a few months ago. Alissa telling Hailey about her new school – not boarding school, though, while Hailey carefully talked about Hogwarts, not to accidentally let critical information slip. They continued to stroll through the neighborhood to keep themselves warm, Hailey being actually happy they walked. She now felt a new form of nervousness around Alissa, which she could actually hide better this way. But as much as she loved spending time with the brunette, she didn't want to anger her parents at the first day she came back, so she got slower in her pacing at some point, after a few seconds of silence. Also, Alissa had been checking her watch over 5 times in the last 30 minutes, so she probably wanted to go back soon, too.

„I think we should head home now, it's gotten rather late, I-„ Hailey started to voice her thoughts, just as Alissa suddenly stopped in her tracks completely and put one of her hands hand on Hailey's shoulder so she would follow suit. The other one, that held her watch, inches away from her face, since the darkness restricted their sight heavily in this area. She mumbled something to herself, but, after a few seconds, her face lit up when she looked at Hailey again.

„So…I think congratulations are in order now."

„What?" „It's just turned…midnight." Alissa said, somewhere in the distance a church bell started to chime, as to emphasize her statement. „I daresay a birthday is a reason for congrats, right?" She smirked.

Hailey looked at her, mouth agape. She quickly shook her head to gain her composure again and engulfed Alissa in a hug. „Oh my… _happy birthday_ , Alice! Why didn't you say anything?"

„I said it right now, didn't I?" She answered smugly. „But seriously, I didn't even know if I could catch you today, so I thought I would go with the surprise this time." She grinned. „Also, my parents want to take me on a trip for the next few days, so I wouldn't have had the chance to tell you tomorrow." She was quiet for a moment, then said somehow sheepishly. „I just wanted to spend at least a few minutes of my birthday with you."

 _Oh._

„Wow…this…wow." Hailey stuttered. It was strangely difficult to comprehend that Alissa actually went out of her way just to meet up with her for one or two hours _just_ to see her for a moment on her birthday. It left her with a throbbing sensation in her chest and the urge to hug the girl again.

 _Not her other friends, just me._

 _Unfair._

Since she obviously hadn't gotten a present for the girl, Hailey at least insisted on bringing her home.

As they were about to say goodbye, Alissa gave herself a facepalm. „Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing. Since I'll be away for the next days, do you want to come over after our trip? My parents said to bring you over, they even said something about a sleepover…so, just if you want…" It was dark enough for Alissa hopefully not seeing the blush that spread over Hailey's face.

„But your parents are here, right? You probably want to spent as much time with them as possible. That's okay, I was just asking, _if_ you had the time–"

„I'd love to come over, Alice." Hailey now grinned, the obvious discomfort of the girl helping the blonde back into a more relaxed state of mind, calming her nerves a little. „Sleepover sounds nice too. There are _few_ days that would work perfectly for me."

The first days of her Christmas-holidays had been a fun yet relaxing experience for Hailey that year. Her parents had been true to their words, they started their journeys early in the morning, visiting Christmas fairs, lovely snowy parks and, to Hailey's delight and her fathers misfortune, a several beautiful art galleries. Everything included a lot of unhealthy eating, laughing and generally just bonding with her parents again. Hailey almost lost it when her mother bought matching toques for them with the print of the Union Jack. Her father put it on with a rather stoic expression on his face, only changing into a huge grin when his wife produces a third one for their daughter.

And as much as she admitted she had missed spending time with her parents, at the same time Hailey felt giddy regarding her sleepover in a few days. She knew it was childish, but couldn't shake the feeling as well.

* * *

As soon as that day arrived, Hailey nervously stood in front of the Haase's home at noon, ringing the doorbell reluctantly. There wasn't so much reason for her to be nervous. She had met Alissa's parents on several occasions, even crashed at Alissa's place once when they had fallen asleep over a late night movie. So there literally was no reason for her to be as nervous as she felt right now. _Get it together._

The sound of the doorbell hadn't even faded away completely when the door was ripped open in front of Hailey. She expected to see either Alissa or her parents and in consequence stuttered and frowned a little when she saw a complete stranger who grinned at her like a cheshire cat. The older girl - or rather, young woman? - surely was a few years older than Hailey. With light brown hair in a ponytail, a few freckles in her face and some cozy, beige and brown cloth on, she looked like a calm and friendly person, which absolutely contradicted her next actions. She engulfed the startled Hailey in a big, bone-crushing hug.

 _I don't think I got hugged the rest of the year as much as I got these last few days._

„It's _so_ nice to finally meet you, Hailey" She chirped, not letting go of Hailey who grew more uncomfortable by the second. Somewhere in the back of her mind she recognised the same accent as Alissa's, but was cut off of her thoughts when a new, rather angry voice shouted down from the upper floor, followed by some hurried footsteps down the staircase.

„ _Mira_! Stop that, for god's sake!" The girl that apparently was named Mira finally let go of Hailey, but still sporting that giant grin on her face. „Awwww, Lissa, give me a little credit here. I was so looking forward to finally meet the girl you were going on and on about."

Hailey still had problems to keep up with what was happening. Rubbing her shoulder a little that the elder girl had crushed earlier. She didn't miss the deep blush that Alissa sported after the last comment of the other brunette.

She then sighed, rolling her eyes a little. „Well, welcome to my home, Hailey. Apparently, you've already met my elder sister, Mira."

 _Oh. Context. Did she ever tell you she has a sister? I think she did…didn't she?_

„Yeah, uh…nice to meet you." Hailey said politely, not knowing where she stood with that unfamiliar and kind of overwhelming person in front of her.

As if completely unaware of the weird situation she had created, Mira clapped her hands together in glee. „You have, like, the best timing ever, Hailey. Our Ma just told us that the food will be ready a little earlier than expected, so we can almost dig in. Come on, put your cloth somewhere, I'll bring you a cup of cocoa to your seat, sounds good?"

Hailey just nodded, Mira then hurried away.

Alissa slowly came closer and sighed again. „Sorry, I know my sister can be… _something_. But she means well, seriously." Hailey chuckled. „I know, it's okay." Actually Hailey had forgotten her nervousness for a moment since the strange encounter earlier. Alissa smiled in relieve.

„Are you two coming or what? Don't take Hailey all for yourself, Lissa, our parents also want to greet her."

„Oh shut _up_ , we're coming!" Alissa said, but before she started going in the direction of the dining room, she scooped Hailey up in a rather quick hug.

„I'm glad you're here." She said quietly before they went to greet Mr. and Mrs. Haase.

Lunch with the Haase's was a rather funny affair. Alissa's parents english was good enough and they were eager to test their skills with Hailey.

And more importantly, during lunch, she learned that she had a rather wrong first impression of Alissa's elder sister.

Miriam – _Mira_ – Haase apparently was 24 and didn't live with her family anymore. She studied in Germany for a while – _cultural management-something_ – before moving to Jordan two years ago, together with her boyfriend. They now lived there together, working on various social and cultural projects in collaboration with their studies. So the stories she told were absolutely interesting, but additionally they were completely hilarious as well.

„Have you ever sat on a camel, Hailey?" „Uh, I can't say I have?" Hailey said, grinning. The lax atmosphere had helped her loosen up a lot, she felt relaxed and was in a good mood.

„I have, on multiple occasions." Mira nodded to herself while taking a swig from the wine in front of her. „And it's not so bad, actually. The worst part is not even the first time it stands up to walk with you on it's jiggling top. The first time it _sits down_ is the moment you have to look into the face of horror. And with that, I mean you fall off of if you don't hold on tight enough.

„You _fell of a camel_?!"

„Actually, I didn't. But Sam did." Mira said, referring to her boyfriend, Samuel. „Regarding his face, it was really scary. And I tell you, the stomach ache I got from laughing at him…" She shook her head, pointing out her utter misery as her boyfriend hurt himself. „But since I learned from his mistakes, I'd call it ultimately a rather useful experience."

Mira had a lot of funny stories to tell, also filled Hailey in a little of Jordan Culture, which, she had to admit, didn't have the slightest clue about. Hailey listened to Mira's stories in awe, sometimes stealing side-glances at a by now rather quiet Alissa. She didn't think too much by it in the beginning, only happy she'd get along so well with her family. But when she caught the younger sister with a rather far away, disinterested look in her eyes, she started to wonder a little.

„Phuah, finally, a beer again!" Mira said, taking a few large gulps from the newly opened beer in front of her. „You see, in Jordan you don't really drink alcohol, it's just not common. But man, did I miss it…" She looked at her watch. „Oooh, it's that late already. Didn't you plan something for today, Lissa?"

Alissa sighed. „Thank you for telling her about it, Mira. Do you want to tell her _what_ it is, as well?"

Mira smiled meekly. „I am sorry, Lissa, don't be like that." She put an arm around her sister, pulled her close, and, before the younger girl could protest, press a kiss at the top of her head. „I wish you girls fun, alright? I promised Sam to call him around this time, so I'll excuse myself now. Have fun, you two!" She winked and sashayed, obviously a little tipsy, up the staircase.

Alissa rolled her eyes, but had a small smile on her lips as she looked how her sister vanished.

„That girl, seriously…but, yeah. You didn't plan anything else today, right?"

„Right." Hailey nodded. „I'm all yours."

The next thingthingHailey knew was, that a loud ‚thud' emerged from the side, followed by a hissed „ouch". When she turned her head, she saw Alissa rub her forehead with a pained expression. _Did she just ran into their doorframe?_

„You okay?"

„Never better." Alissa said with a slight grin, trying to gloss over her strange clumsiness. „I hope you won't take that statement back in a few seconds." And with that, she took Hailey by the hand and rushed outside with her.

„Soooo" Alissa dragged the word as long as possible. „…Do you want to go on my first legal ride with me?"

Hailey needed a second to progress this question. Finally, the penny dropped and she gaped at the girl that produced some key's out of her pockets, slowly strolling towards the car on their driveway.

„Wait…wha…this birthday was…you're _older t_ han me?" It never occured to her that Alissa could be old enough to drive. She had always just naturally assumed that they would be pretty much the same age.

„Almost two years, dear child." Alissa said smugly, obviously enjoying the other girls surprise. „That's one of the neater things about the UK, you can drive one year earlier than you could in Germany, at least without your parents sitting in the same car. I'm just happy I didn't start driving lessons back then, the change in the driving-system would've killed me for sure..."

„Please don't kill us." The younger girl gulped.

„Geez, I won't! I passed the test on my first try!"

„Alright, I'm in!" Hailey sighed theatrically, but started to grin immediately. "Where do you want to go?"

„I thought about going to a lake that's about an hour drive from here? My parents took me with them at some point in the summer and it was a nice enough view back then. How about it?"

Hailey agreed to the suggestion, so they started off immediately, to use as much of the left daylight as possible. Alissa was, even if a little nervous, a reasonably good driver for her lack of experience.

Soon Hailey had overcome the knowledge that Alissa had the advantage of being two years older than her, when both engulfed in a pleasant, superficial chat over which the young driver could concentrate on the luckily mostly empty roads.

„So…what do you think?" The older girl asked after a while, somehow out of context. Her voice suggested that this was a more serious turn in conversation than the rest of their car-conversation had been. „About what?"

„Well…my family, I guess? What was your impression?" The question confused Hailey a little, especially since she had already met her parents before.

„Well, it was really nice, your parents are pretty good cooks! And it certainly was a false cliché that Germans don't have humor. Your sister is totally hilarious." Hailey sniggered.

„Uh, yeah…she can be quite funny."

„ _Quite_ funny? Alice, I cried into my Cheesecake when she told us about the time she ran away from that giant spider on her bedroll and jumped into a river for rescue! I know you love all animals, but I probably would've reacted the same way as your sister. She is kind of a born entertainer."

„Yeah, isn't she great?" Alissa snapped all of the sudden. „We're here." She added, slowly turning into the otherwise empty parking lot. She pulled the car in one of the parking lots and stopped the engine. She didn't move afterwards, just stared out of the window with a sour expression.

Hailey made big eyes, her heart sunk, despite not really knowing what she had done wrong. „Ugh…Alice? I'm sorry, if…" Alissa looked at her shocked, as if she just realised what she said before, waking up from her thoughts.

„No, _I'm_ sorry!" Alice exclaimed, ruffling her hands through her hair. „It's not your fault my sister can be so goddamn perfect." She concluded, opening the door on her side of the car. „A lot of my friends back in Germany liked her more than me, as well." She sighed, stepping out of the vehicle.

„Don't say something like that. You know that's rubbish."

„I don't know Hailey, I've seen how my friends in Germany reacted to her. Pretty similar to _you_."

 _Could it be that Alissa was…no. Probably just some form of wounded sibling-honour I wouldn't get._

„I am still pretty sure that's bollocks anyway, okay? Maybe your friends were just happy to get along with your sister as well, did you think about that?" It at least was true for her.

„But…" She continued. „ Speaking of them…your _friends_ , I mean, is it okay that you haven't seen your guys from school until the holidays started?"

Hailey was aware that Alice had asked her the exact same thing months ago, but the mentioning of her friends just triggered that memory.

Alissa, though, only smiled and shook her head. „Are you nuts? I just got you back for such a short time, I won't trade that for anything." At that, she leaned her head on Hailey's shoulder and sighed.

„I-I really don't know about your friends, Alice, but at least _I_ don't like your sister more than you."

„I am sorry I snapped at you." Alissa said meekly.

„It's okay, don't sweat it." Hailey said, hyper aware of the closeness between them. _Did my voice just sound higher than normal?_

Alissa chuckled. „It's weird, I am a hundred percent sure it was true for at least _some_ of my friends, but it never made me nearly as jealous as the thought it could happen with you as well. You are just …strangely special to me, you know?"

„Oh…is that so? I…thanks." Hailey stuttered. She felt incapable of speaking correctly in that second. _So she really was jealous?_ Alissa's head shifted a little so her gaze was now firmly locked with Hailey's. She leaned into her just a little bit closer, their faces suddenly only inches apart from each other.

 _What is… happening here?_

„I missed you like crazy over the last months."

„I… – _‚did, too, more than you could ever imagine. I had so many nights that I couldn't sleep because of you' –_ …see." Hailey managed to say, still not able to form a coherent connection between her thoughts and her mouth.

Alissa on the other side seemed to see something in Hailey's reaction – or rather, _didn't_ see something? She shortly flashed a sad smile and started retreating from her position close to the younger girl.

It was this change in situation that let finally click something in Hailey's mind. Alissa slowly averted her gaze. „Well, it's getting cold, should we-"

But Hailey would never learn what Alissa wanted to propose, since she quickly closed the distance between their faces and placed her lips on the other girls mouth.

It was over after only two or three seconds, not much more than a peck. Both both girls stared at each other with wide eyes afterwards, unsure how to react. With every quiet second though, Hailey's mind spiraled more an more into an an overwhelming panic.

 _Oh my god, what did I just do? Why did I do that? Oh god, OH GOD, what should I say now? She will never talk to me again, could I walk back home from here? Oh god, everything is over-_

Alissa reached out with a shaking hand, clutching at Hailey's jacket almost fiercely.

„Please… _please_ tell me you didn't just slip because you're a klutz and you actually _did_ mean to do that." Alissa almost begged, eyes wide open with a scared look in them.

Even if Hailey felt like her rapidly beating heart would probably overtone her answer, she began to speak. Alissa, I…" she started to croak.

 _Why is my throat suddenly so dry, god damnit!?_

She cleared her throat and started again, trying frantically to formulate adequately how she felt about the girl in front of her. „I…like you, Alissa." _Yes, definitely the eloquent explanation I was going for._

Alissa didn't answer immediately, just placing her eyes firmly on the ground between them, her hand still clutching Hailey's parka, maybe even stronger than before. Suddenly, she stomped on the ground with her foot in a rather confusing fit of anger.

„Are you _fucking_ kidding me? You actually tell me that two weeks before you go away again for months!?" She put her other hand up to the blonde's winter clothing, shaking her head. A small sniffle could be heard before she started to talk again, continuing her rampage. „You can't be serious, why didn't you tell me that _sooner_ , you big, stupid _dork_?!" She stomped on the ground again, slightly taking Hailey aback, who couldn't move because of the death grip on her Jacket.

„Uh, I… _wait_ , you didn't do that either! Well…you _do_ like me back… right?" She asked, unsure if she still completely misunderstood something. It was still one big mess in her head, and maybe she just did the math of this situation wrong?

„Of _course_ I do, damn it." Alissa now cried openly. She suddenly moved her hands, that still were up at Hailey's cloth, to suddenly open Hailey's parka, sneaking her hands around the blonde's waist and snuggling up close to her, placing her head against the slightly taller girls neck.

„I was just so fucking _scared_ you wouldn't feel the same way."

Hailey exhaled a shaky breath, putting her arms around Alissa's shoulders, holding her close.

„That makes two of us, I guess."

 _Inhale. Exhale._ Not es shaky as before.

 _Inhalte. Exhale._ Alissa's scent seemed to calm Hailey's nerves just a little bit.

 _Inhale. Exhale. Alright. Go that next step, Ashmore._

„Alice…will you be my girlfriend?"

Alissa didn't say anything, but the more than obvious nod against Hailey's collarbone was a loud enough answer to the younger girl, that finally allowed herself to smile.

* * *

The ride back was rather uneventful, despite it took a good amount of time longer, since Alissa carefully drove a little slower, obviously still as shaken about the whole turn of events as Hailey.

„I didn't even plan to… _make a move._ " Alissa explained sheepishly on their way back. They stood in the same position for about 20 more minutes, not so much talking than just holding each other close, until the cold got to intense to ignore. „Ugh, I actually still almost can't believe it…I mean…how big are the chances here, seriously…?"

„Yeah…I know." Hailey sighed quietly. „That's why I am so happy you did, really.", She was still equally flashed by the events that took place only an hour ago. It just felt so surreal. _I have a girlfriend now, holy crap._ Alissa took her hand from the gearstick for a couple of seconds to tightly squeeze Hailey's hand, who's stomach still flipped a little even at this short contact.

„Me too." The brunette smiled.

„We can make this work, right?"

„Yeah."

* * *

It didn't take them so long after that to come home. Still, it was rather late and the rest of the house residents had already went to bed as it seemed. As a result of that, when Alissa and Hailey entered the house, they made sure to be as quiet as possible.

As they went up the stairs, Alissa started to whisper something. „I ugh…you know, we have a guest room, but I'd like you to stay with me… if you want to?" Even if it was dark, Hailey could almost feel the blush the other girl emitted at this question, which prompted her to fiercely blush in return as well.

„I…'d like to stay with you, yeah."

They entered Alissa's room, which Hailey had only seen on a few occasions, but it didn't really change since the last time she'd been here. The big bed in the middle of the room, her desk and drawer as well as lots of books about zoology. And, obviously, a huge terrarium which harboured a now contently sleeping Heidi.

„So…you still know where the bathroom is, right? How about you go…change and get ready while I get another pillow and bedsheets for you?"

„Sounds good." Hailey agreed, taking the stuff she needed from her sleepover bag and exiting the other girls room again.

Once she entered the bathroom, she quietly closed the door, quickly changing into her pyjama and splashing her face with water to cool it down.

 _You can calm down now, you know?_

She continued to brush her teeth, trying to calm her nerves before entering Alissa's room again, but the mere thought of the girl send her heart into a frenzy again.

 _Isn't this supposed to become better?!_

Needless to say she almost jumped into the ceiling as a sudden knock emerged from the other side of the bathroom door.

„Lissa, bist du das? Tut mir leid, aber ich muss super dringend aufs Klo!" Mira's voice muffled from outside of the room.

„Uh, it's Hailey, but I'm done, no problem, you can come in!" Hailey didn't quite get what the other one said, but there weren't so many reasons why she would go to the bathroom at night.

The door opened, and a sleepy Mira appeared, clad in a pink and fluffy pyjama that looked equally idiotic and comfy.

„Oh, hey Hailey." „Mira yawned quietly, leaving the door wide enough open for Hailey to pass by. The house-guest wanted to rush by quickly, but as soon as they were eye-to-eye level, Mira stopped the younger girl in her tracks by gently placing a hand on her shoulder. „Did you have a nice evening?" She shot her a questioning, but friendly look.

„Mmh, yeah, I did." Hailey confirmed and smiled. „Thanks for asking, I felt really welcome here."

„Oh, you're welcome…and you _are_ welcome, seriously. Everything for Alissa and her _friend._ Had a nice car ride as well?" The way Mira emphasized the word „friend" as well as the scrutinizing look she gave Hailey for a second were enough to let her cheeks redden again. Mira seemed to notice that, she nodded and smiled – not smirk, not grin, just genuinely smile and didn't even wait for a verbal answer from the blonde. „I'm glad." She let go of her shoulder." Have a good night, Hailey."

„Yeah, you too." Hailey said, quickly exiting the bathroom again. The exchange didn't even take half a minute, but still added another point to her recent, rather overwhelming confusion.

„Everything okay?" Alissa asked once Hailey had entered her room again. „I heard some talking outside, did we wake up my parents?"

„Uh, everything alright, just met your sister on my way."

„Did she say something weird again?"

„No no, just asking if I had a nice evening."

„I'm glad. I had told her about you sometimes when we talked to each other over the phone and since she'd been here, she went on and on about finally meeting you." She rolled her eyes. „She _can_ be really weird if she wants to."

„Hm…" Hailey said, neither denying nor agreeing to Alissa's statement. As confusing as some of Mira's actions seemed to be, everything somehow fell in the right place today. Also, her love and care for her sister was rather obvious. _‚Everything for Alissa and her_ friend _.'_ Hailey still wasn't sure if that really had a special, underlying meaning to it. _It could be. It also couldn't. Who knows. Who cares?_ Her conclusion was, that Mira probably was a way better sister than Alissa had just given her credit for.

„So…it's pretty late, right? Better go to sleep."

„Oh..yeah." Hailey answered, going to the other side of the of the two person bed that stood in the middle of Alissa's room. She quickly ducked under the sheets, stealing a few side glances at Alissa who seemed to do the same as well.

A few seconds they laid still, until Hailey's eyes had gotten used to the dark enough to recognize Alissa's arm weren't covered by the bedsheets but laid on top. It still took a moderate amount of courage from her, but she shifted her own arm out of the cover to lightly take the other girls hand into hers. Alissa reciprocated the light touch, both of their heads turned towards each other now, just close enough to make out their silhouettes and eyes that reflected the last traces of light. They held their gazes for a few seconds, until Alissa mumbled ‚ _Screw it_ ', scooted over to the other girl and snuggled up close to her.

„I've dreamt about this situation way to often and our time together is _way_ to short to not do that right now."

„I'm pretty much okay with it." Hailey said, reciprocating the hug.

„I so hope for you there _is_ a way for us to stay in contact until we see each other again." Alissa said, snuggling further into Hailey's shoulder, the sleepiness already lacing her voice.

Hailey gulped, her arms strengthened their grip around Alissa's back.

A point she had successfully ignored until this very second. Up until this moment, both of them were normal girls, facing the normal problems of reality with complicated situations, just lucky enough to have a mutual feeling about each other. But with those last words, she felt reality crashing back at her. She was _not_ normal in the sense Alissa would expect, at least. Also, not normal in a sense that would cause problems between them inevitably.

„There is." The witch finally said. „But I have to tell you something first. Or rather, show you."

* * *

Well, As you can see, it didn't work out for it to just be one OC-Chapter. It simply had grown to big for that. The next chapter will mostly take place in the magical world/Hogwarts again, so not such a strong emphasis on my attempt to write non-canon-characters into the hp-world. How did I do, actually? Not that I question my skills, just asking for a friend.

I know I said that the last time, but I'll give my best to pump out the next chapter sooner, since I actually planned to write this as a part if THIS chapter, the concept is pretty much done, It just would've been way to long if I merged them. So, see you asap!

Celtbhoy: Well, glad to hear that :) And aren't we all a little insecure? :D Nothing strange with being self-conscious! piecesofyourheart: I hope I didn't disappoint with the backstory? :D (Even if it had been waay to long, I know) MilandaAnza: Good call here, but then I'd have to kill them off at a specific moment of the story or something, and that would restrict rather harshly what I've planned for them ;) And yeah, that's one of the main points why I included Hailey! SixPerfections: I see your point there, but actually, I planned the opposite: Since -with the exception of Dumbledore - none of the canon-characters had been gay, I simply felt like I needed some kind of non-canon trigger for Hermione. Or rather an „influence?" from the outside. My point was precisely to not let the ‚realism' of the story get flawed by too many gay-character deeds. But Hailey had been planned as gay from second one, so she's always been in my head :) Well, it's certainly true that nobody would Hailey expect to be gay :D Hope it hadn't been to long for you to still looking for more?^^ Lady R. Farris: Awesome, here you go :D To your liking?

andreabaylehc: That is the big question, right? Who knows. (Well, I obviously, but you'll have to wait until the story get's there ;) )

SoManySkullz: Thank you for your kind words, really appreciate them!


	17. Chapter 17

Eeyyyyy, what up. This update luckily came a little sooner than the other. Enjoy :)

Chapter 17 – Reflections

„Your magic, white rabbit

Has left its writing on the wall

We follow like Alice

And just keep diving down the hole"

Egypt Central, White Rabbit

* * *

„Long story short–„ Hailey declared while opening another bottle of beer, „The next day, I told her everything. Aaaand before you say anything–.…" Hailey continued, holding up a finger so Hermione, who had just opened her mouth and had her brows clearly furrowed, wouldn't voice her concerns immediately. „…–I totally know how that must sound to you. But how would you imagine me to handle the situation otherwise? I had a really bad inner conflict about that as well. In the end, it's easier and less strict than you would imagine…I mean, if you're muggleborn, your parents actually _have_ to know. And if you get married to a Muggle you're also allowed to tell them, right? It's not like you have to live with it as a secret forever. And I thought I'd just do that part a little earlier." She waved her hand. „I pledge the dark figure of muggles who know is way bigger than the Ministry thinks, anyway. So what does one Muggle more change?"

„It's _still_ irresponsible." Hermione said, maybe a little too sternly. Even if she had an understanding for Hailey's situation, The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was no joke. Neither were the regulations on endangering this peculiar subject, all the more of you're underage. „What if they found out?"

„I thought about that as well, of course…" Hailey sighed. „So I came up with a plan. It was simple enough in the end, but maybe that's what made it work. I figured there were two main problems with this whole subject. The first one was to actually make Alice believe me. I mean, it almost doesn't matter how much you like someone, if they tell you they're a witch and go to a wizarding school with flying brooms and ghosts, they would call you insane for a good reason. I mean, it's easier on us when we find out since all this weird stuff happened to us as children we couldn't explain. So, with our young age in regards, it seemed almost logical… at least to me." Hermione slowly nodded, since she could relate very well to the other girls remarks. Hailey smiled weakly and went on.

„So, I figured I had to actually _show_ her magic or something magic-related for her to believe me – and hope this would be enough for her not to run away screaming. But I figured it wouldn't work out with us either way if this would shock her away, it'd just happen a little earlier." She laughed nervously." You have no Idea how scared I felt. But well, the second point would be showing her without the Ministry noticing. Well, since you have the Trace on yourself until you're an adult, I just couldn't charm her turtle into a teacup or something." She smiled. „At least not in my own home."

„What do you mean?" Hermione asked warily.

„You know, I always thought that the Trace-System was rather unfair." Hailey stated.

„As a muggle-born, you have to live strictly after those laws. You have basically no way to circumvent those regulations without getting busted immediately. It sure is different for pure- and half-bloods. You geht what I'm saying, don't you?"

Hermione furrowed her brows for a second before she understood what the other girl meant. They had learned at some point how the Trace worked. Technically, the Ministry couldn't pinpoint _who_ created the magic, but only _that_ magic was cast in near proximity of an underage witch or wizard. It had been a rather vague System and the reason why Harry got a warning in his second year, when actually Dobby casted the floating-charm. She herself had used magic at least twice outside of Hogwarts intentionally – once, when she hadn't even entered Hogwarts and had simply tried to practice a little, a second time at the Quidditch world cup, where she used a simple ‚Lumos' when the Death Eaters started to approach. Obviously, the ministry had far worse problems at that time than a small magical light, but it still had proved a point there.

„Well, since a lot of wizards live in communities with more than one family, there technically is magic casted all the time. And since most muggle-borns _don't_ live near many magical sources, we're just easily caught. Most of the magical children once in a while cast a spell, I'm pretty sure of it. Dee even admitted the occasional _reparo_ when she breaks something at home." Hailey shrugged. „Well, I always thought this was pretty unfair, but in this situation I also saw an opportunity."

„You went somewhere you knew some wizards lived with her." Hermione concluded. It wasn't so much of a question at this point, but rather obvious where the girl was heading at. Hailey just nodded.

„You see where I'm getting at. It wasn't easy to convince her, mind you. The nearest part-wizarding-village I knew about was away over an hour by car, but my urgency probably made her agree in the end. The situation itself had been, as you can imagine, rather strange…"

* * *

 _27\. December 1965_

Despite being incredibly nervous, Hailey was happy that at least the first part of her plan had worked out. Since it was still pretty early in the morning, they didn't encounter many hurdles while driving towards the small town northeast from them. It wasn't a town where only wizards resided like in Godricks Hollow actually, it happened to be something like an wizarding trade-center for this region, with mostly economical value. Nothing near as big as Diagon Alley, more like some shops and offices scattered around a quarter of the town, carefully charmed not to be noticed by muggles. It wasn't a particularly well known place and Hailey had only remembered it because she had some of her school supplies bought from here once, since her parents didn't found the time to go to London with her two or three years ago.

But the magical activity in this town was enough for Hailey's plan to work out…hopefully.

They arrived around 9 o' clock, when the sky only just started to lighten up a little. As Hailey had hoped, it still was rather empty around the streets when they made their way to the only small ‚wizards-only'-Inn in this town.

The ‚flying fox' was rather old, but in a good shape and only had ‚closed'-sign in it's front door for muggles to see. There were a lot of other Inn's and Hotels in this area, so this would suffice as a distraction. The sign magically changed its letters towards ‚open' when Alissa and Hailey approached. The young witch eyed her companion if she would dismiss this as some strange optical illusion or would get suspicious already. The faint blush on her cheeks indicated she was thinking about something else and hadn't even noticed this subtle change.

„We're going to a _hotel_?" She asked seemingly confused. When Hailey looked at her expression, her own cheeks started to burn immediately.

„Just because we'll need to have some privacy… oh bullocks, it's not what you think it is, just follow me!"

They entered the front door and luckily, nothing seemed to scream ‚wizarding-place' into their faces immediately, the design of the whole place was simple enough. An elderly woman sat behind the reception-desk and smiled friendly at them.

Hailey indicated Alissa to wait for a moment and hurried towards the woman to book a room for the rest of the day. Luckily, she didn't ask questions, just gave her the keys for a room on the upper floor told her they should take ‚as long as they needed' and pay afterwards. Hailey didn't know if the woman actually implied something, but it was enough to let her cheeks redden again.

 _Goddammit, there really is no easy way._

The girls went up the staircase while Hailey nervously eyed their surroundings. She just prayed they wouldn't run into any House-elves on their way or anything like that.

They entered the small room which only held a small bed, a desk, a table with two chairs and a cupboard at the opposite wall. As simple as Hailey had hoped. She gestured for Alissa to take a seat at the table while she took the seat opposite of her. They looked at each other, Alissa simply with an arched eyebrow since she still had now clue what this all was about – seriously, Hailey could call herself lucky she even agreed to this strange activity – when the nervousness kicked back in. She felt more anxious right now than any moment before that day. Her body started to tremble a little.

 _Oh god. This is it. There is no turning back now. What do I even–_

Alissa put her hand on top of Hailey's. „Gosh, Hailey, would you _please_ just tell me what it is? You're really scaring me here."

„I…I know, but it's hard." Hailey sighed. I don't know how to start and I'm scared you'll run away as soon as I tell you." The older girl arched her eyebrows even higher at that.

„Ugh…are you a criminal and have murdered someone? Or do you sell drugs?"

„Huh?" Hailey said, eyes wide open. „What? No! Nothing like that!"

„So you won't tell me you're doing illegal stuff or anything I'd be morally opposed of?" The blonde shook her head feverishly. "Good." Alissa smiled, talking the other girls shaking hands into her own and squeezed tightly. „Then we can work it out, I promise. Just trust me, okay?" A small smile appeared on Hailey's face, nodding thankfully. She took another deep breath.

„Alright, Alice…a question first. Do you think I'm crazy?"

„Uh…well, I think I told you frequently that you're crazy…but for real? No, you're pretty sane and actually mostly down to earth." Alissa started her answer as a joke but refrained from pursuing it as she saw how serious Hailey was.

„Good. So if I might tell you something that would sound insane to you, you'll let me explain everything and try to be unbiased as strange and unbelievable as it may sound to you in the beginning?"

„Uhhm…yeah."

„Promise?"

„Yeah, I promise. So give it to me straight."

Hailey disengaged her hands from Alissa's slight grip to pull something out of her bag. „…Hailey, why do you have a stick with you here?"

„I told you about the school I'm attending, right?"

„Yeah, McGonagall's School in Scotland, right?"

„Ugh…yeah, the name is actually not that. It's called 'Hogwarts'. It's a school for…children with special abilities."

„You mean…highly intelligent students?" Alissa questioned, obviously wondering why Hailey had lied about something like that.

„Not really. I…mean…ugh. You know what? Screw it. The full title is ‚Hogwarts school for wizardry and witchcraft.'"

She held her breath while awaiting the reaction of the brunette in front of her, who just sat there, mouth open, staring at her.

„Could you repeat that?"

Hailey sighed. _Well, at least she didn't stand up and ran away immediately._ „I think it's best if I show you. She took the wand in front of her into her hand. She contemplated a moment, then whispered:

„ _Muffliato._ "

„Hailey, seriously, I don't get what you're–"

The witch looked around and saw a small basket with a few apples in it on the cupboard. She pointed her wand at them and gulped.

„ _Papiliofors_ "

As soon as she'd muttered the words, the apples changed into a few large peacock butterflies, lazily flying into different parts of the room. Hailey held her breath, watching Alissa's reaction.

It took Alissa exactly two seconds of intense staring before she let out a single, high pitched scream and fell of her chair and crashing to the ground.

Hailey immediately called the spell off. The butterflies vanished in an instant, a few apples fell to the ground with rather loud ‚thuds'. She put her wand on the table again, hurrying around it. „Alice, are you ok?" She wanted to help the girl up, but hesitated when she saw the fearful look in her eyes. „Ugh…I…sorry." She hung her head down, dropping on the floor a few feet away from Alissa. The girl had made herself small, embraced her legs tightly and muttered something to herself.

Hailey didn't exactly know what she should do or say now, so she just sat there, far enough away from the brunette not to scare her even more. Slowly, tears started to dwell up from her eyes.

 _Has this all been a mistake? What if she'll tell…I don't know? The police, the government, a freakshow?!_

She didn't know how long she should wait – and what she should do when the other girl wouldn't show any reaction at all in the next minutes. The sickening feeling in her stomach almost suffocated her at that point.

„Just give me one more moment, okay?" Alissa suddenly said, her breath still high pitched and her voice almost unnoticeable between them.

Hailey nodded. „As long as you need." She whispered.

So they sat for a few moments, Hailey listening to Alissa's breath that slowly became calmer, bracing herself for what the girl would say to her.

„Could…you do that again?"

„What? Seriously?"

„Yes. Just show me again so I won't think that I've just become crazy anymore."

So the witch slowly stood up, grabbing her wand again.

„ _Accio apples_!" She mumbled, Alissa flinched when the fruits from the different corners of the room seemingly moved on its own into Hailey's arms. She put them in front of her on the table.

„ _Papiliofors_ " she charmed the apples once again and as on cue, the butterflies filled the room once more.

This time Alissa didn't scream, her eyes darted between the different butterflies, following their movement open mouthed. After one or two minutes, one of them sat down in front of her at a small cabinet and her gaze settled on it.

„You…see them too, right?"

„I…yeah."

„I'm not crazy?"

„No, you're not."

„I'm not crazy." She muttered again. This time, though, as a statement. „You did that? You're… a witch? Like, the real deal. Like from the books?"

‚Like from the books?' It seemed like such a childish way to ask, but it made totally sense to Hailey. _How are you suppose to comprehend something so unbelievable if not through your most naive, younger side? How else should you believe what you saw?_

„I think that depends on which books you read." Hailey laughed nervously, twirling the wand between her fingers. „I'm not part of some evil cult or so…"

„So you wouldn't sacrifice me for any strange ritual, would you?"

The witch looked at the girl in front of her with wide eyes. „What?! Of _course_ not! I don't even know if that's possible. But…just _no_!"

Alissa actually giggled at that, after what Hailey felt like it took the biggest weight of her chest.

„I'm joking with you. Well, mostly. Seeing that I don't know anything about you being a witch…hell, it doesn't start to sound sane, even if I say it more often." She sighed, it seemed like she had collected herself somehow by now. She looked Hailey in the eyes."I may be mostly clueless, but I still know _you,_ not as a… witch, but as a _person_. She crawled over to Hailey, engulfing her in a big hug. „I'll be honest, this is a lot to take in. I'm not even completely convinced that despite everything you've said I've simply gone crazy." Contradicting to that statement she now smiled warmly at Hailey. „But if it's _you_ I'll try to believe I've not gone completely bonkers. I always knew you were special, now I just have the confirmation."

Out of nowhere, Hailey started to sob, clinging onto Alissa as for dear life.

„I was so scared you would…I don't know, hate me, never want to see me again." „Never." Alissa said sincerely, holding onto Hailey's cheek and slowly initiating their second kiss.

They eyed each other for a few seconds after the kiss, until Alissa's eyes went wide again. „Oh god, isn't it totally dangerous to show that to me here? I even let out that loud scream. She looked around with light panic in her eyes. „You…you should make those disappear again, what if someone comes in to check why I screamed?" „Don't worry about that." Hailey said, heart still beating loudly from their closeness. „I casted a silencing spell, since I thought you'd maybe…well…scream." She shrugged. „Furthermore, this is a magical place here, they wouldn't really mind."

Alissa sighed. „Of course." She pouted. „You ‚anticipated' I'd scream?"

„Yeah. I mean, who wouldn't?" Hailey said with a weak smile.

„Fair point. So…tell me everything?"

And that, Hailey did. Everything from the beginning when she got her letter to Hogwarts, over the sorting hat and the different houses, her friends and experiences. How her favourite subject was called _charms_ while she sucked at _potions,_ not chemistry. Her daily life and also the problems that occurred with telling a ‚muggle'.

„So _technically_ I am doing something illegal right now…" She chuckled. „I hope that isn't counting as a reason to break up now?" Alissa just ignored the last statement, eyes wide with concern. „Gosh, so this will have consequences for you?!"

„It's possible." Hailey contemplated. Alissa's grip on her hand, that she'd been holding since Hailey started to explain everything, tightened. „But I doubt it. I would've gotten some sort of letter or notice already if that'd been the case. A little magic like what I showed you wouldn't be noticed in a highly magical place like that. Alissa smiled. „You actually thought this through, right. That's why you're a…Ravenclaw?"

Hailey laughed happily, rubbing another tear from her face. „You have no Idea how much I longed for you to say something like that."

* * *

In hindsight, it could've gone so much wrong with the way to tell her I chose that day…" Hailey sighed. „But luckily, it went as well as in any way possible. We talked for almost six hours in that room, I think. At some point, I had to change the butterflies back to apples since we got hungry, even if Alice was super reluctant to actually eat them." She chuckled, before becoming serious again. „Even if I know how much I risked that day, I still feel like it was the right choice to make. For example, we could finally exchange letters now, since I could simply explain the concept of owl-post to her. Since Alice loves animals so much, this was actually one of her favorite parts, to regularly have an owl as a visitor…" She fondly looked at the picture in her purse she had shown Hermione earlier. „I missed her nevertheless, still do right now, but it was better for the most part, I mean, at least we got to talk to each other _somehow_ , on top she also believed my whole story. It means the world to me."

Hermione crooked her head, not understanding while Hailey's smile had suddenly turned sad.

„That's…a good thing, isn't it?" „Oh, it sure is. And I don't know what would've happened if I hadn't done it at that point. Since there was one more… _thing_ that happened, a few months after I returned to Hogwarts again."

* * *

 _11 March 1966_

Dee looked quietly at Hailey who munched happily on her Sandwich. They were in the great hall, in the middle of their breakfast.

„I know I've said it often, but this _really_ is nice." „What?" Hailey asked confused, looking at her friend for a second before concentrating on her food again. „You. How you are now. Not moping the whole day…being happy. You don't even complain about your parents anymore." She smirked. „Good for you. _And_ for me." „Yeah yeah, I know." Hailey shrugged, finishing her Sandwich and taking the next one. „I told you I'm sorry for my behavior till Christmas. I owe you one, okay?"

„Yeah, now we're talking." Dee grinned happily, when a loud „swoosh!" over their heads announced the arrival of the owls. Hailey didn't even look up at the noises.

„Not today, huh?" Dee asked when huge barn owl dropped the newest issue of the Daily Prophet into her lap.

„Nah, the next one should be in…two days."

Both of them were referring to the routine that Hailey and Alice had fallen to. An owl took approximately two weeks for a letter-exchange between them. About six days to Alice and another six days back to Hailey, with one day of resting between the trips. Hailey had borrowed one of the school owls for the first weeks, until both realised that two weeks were a really long time until they got to hear something from the other. So on the first occasion that she could go to Hogsmeade, Hailey went to the local magical pet store. She looked at the dozens of chattering birds, until she directly looked into two large, dark eyes. They belonged to a small, fluffy, brownish owl which the shop assistant identified as a male „africanian wood owl." His eyes were so large that she always seemed to look a little startled, holding Hailey's gaze and following her moves.

When she held out a finger, the owl nibbled at it a little, without breaking eye contact, chirping happily after.

„That one, please."

So now Hailey were able to use her new owl „Goliath" for one weeks exchange with Alissa, one of the school owls for the other. Always making sure to remember the owls how they were only allowed to search for Alissa, not wanting to startle their parents.

„We should leave for Transfiguration class soon." Dee said a short while later, after she put the daily prophet away. Both packed their things and were on their way to the classroom where Professor McGonagall was already waiting.

When they entered the room, the back part of the class had already been mostly occupied by a bunch of students with green and silver in their robes, sneering at them haughtily or completely ignoring their existence. It had never been a pleasure to share class with the Slytherins, being low-key bullied basically since day one. Often enough she and her classmates had been hexed by Rookwood, Black oder whoever felt like letting of a little steam at some point. It was rather annoying most of the time, but since Hailey came back to school, she just couldn't be bothered to care about it. Her suddenly, overall happy demeanor had even been noticed by McGonagall, who just arched an eyebrow at Hailey's huge grin when she and Dee took their seats in the front part of the classroom, despite the pellet of paper that had just hit her head.

 _Two more days._

Hailey and Dee came back to their room in the evening, since after dinner they had some spare time before Astronomy-class would start. Happily chatting, they entered their room, until a sharp sound caught both of their attentions. Something was sitting on Hailey's bed, hopping up and down flustered.

„Hailey, isn't that Goliath?"

„Yeah…" Hailey said suspiciously, moving towards her bed where the little owl was seated. Getting a closer look, she realised that the small owl looked rather weary, a few feathers looking in the wrong direction. He was also swinging unnaturally for an owl, once he had calmed down a little.

„Merlin, he looks like he's almost dropping with exhaustion." Dee said aghast.

„Hey little guy, what's up?" Hailey said, sitting next to him.

He chirped weakly, nudging his leg towards her. A small piece of paper was bound to it.

 _What?_ Hailey frowned while she took the letter from his leg. Almost immediately, he flew out of the window, probably towards the owlery.

„What was that?" Dee wondered as her gaze followed Goliath out of the window. „He didn't come with the post owls? And didn't you say it would take him another two days or so to get back here? If he really was with your girlfriend he must've hurried like cra- _Hailey_?!"

Dee stopped her wondering when she heard Hailey crash to the ground. On her knees, she used one now shaking hand to hold the letter, the other one to forcefully grab her head, eyes wide in shock. „Oh my god, what is wrong?" Dee rushed towards her friend.

Hailey didn't even try to speak. Slowly, she held the paper for the other Ravenclaw out to read.

It was a very quick note, scribbled almost unreadable, as if the writer had been completely shaken.

 _Hailey,_

 _This morning my family got the message that Mira and her boyfriend died in a car crash_

 _in Jordan. I don't know what to do. I feel seriously helpless and I know you can't reach me for now, but I still needed to tell you._

 _Alissa_

„Oh my god, Hailey…Mira…that's her sister, right?"

Hailey couldn't answer. Her whole suddenly body felt like dropped into freezing water.

Her heart raced, her mind felt dizzy. She distinctly heard noises next to her head, Dee trying to talk to her more and more frantic, clutching at her shoulder. It didn't get through.

She could only imagining one thing she had to do now.

„I need to go to her, Dee."

„Are you nuts? How on earth will you get there now!? You could…no…you WILL get expelled if you try that"

Hailey suddenly stood up, almost knocking Dee over who kneeled next to her.

„I _really_ don't care, Dee." Was the only thing she said before hurrying out of the dorm room.

Her mind was on autopilot, despite the chaos that surrounded it, strangely clear on the task at hand.

 _I can't apparate yet, neither is it possible for me to create a portkey or something. I probably have to go by flying, it would take about a day for a really skilled flier, so if I go immediately and could be around Glasgow before dawn I could stop for the time its impossible to fly due to daylight and then–_

„Miss Ashmore, what do you think you're doing…Merlin, what _happened_ to you?" It was the startled exclamation from Professor McGonagall that ripped her out of her trance.

While silently ranting in her head, she unconsciously had made her way down the castle, near the entrance where she could make her way to the grounds and the quidditch court, where she knew some of the school brooms were stored. Obviously, McGonagall saw that something was wrong with the student in front of her und wouldn't let go of her so easily. Right now, Hailey didn't feel in any mental state to make up a believable lie, though.

„I…I am sorry, b-but I need to l-leave immediately, P-professor." Was the only thing Hailey said. She almost couldn't talk anymore, there were some huge sobs interrupting her words. Professor McGonagall arched an eyebrow at the upset antics of the girl in front of her.

„I'm afraid that is impossible Miss Ashmore, whatever the problem is, I am sure it can wait until-„ „It can't!" Hailey screamed at the teacher, who only arched her eyebrow further. Her demeanor only changed when Hailey shakily drew her wand and pointed it at her. „Please…just let me go."

Professor McGonagall didn't draw her wand for herself, she just looked the girl over, a serious expression on her face.

„You don't really want that, Miss Ashmore."

Hailey's knees stopped working that instant, she fell to the ground, her wand clattering away from her.

After a few seconds, she felt the Professor move next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

„Would you please accompany me to my Office, Miss Ashmore?"

Hailey nodded and clumsily stood up. With burning eyes and a heaving chest, she followed Professor McGonagall towards her office. They sat down at the teachers desk, McGonagall hadn't said anything since they had started walking.

„Professor…please, you can expel me for all I care, but _please_ just let me go. There is a place I need to be right now." She slowly looked up from the ground, towards her teacher.

With an unreadable expression Professor McGonagall regarded Hailey.

„Hailey…why don't you tell me what happened?" It was the use of her first name that caught the Ravenclaw off guard. She looked at the teacher with big eyes, gulped…

* * *

„And then, I told her everything. From beginning till the end."

Not for the first time since Hailey started to tell her story, Hermione didn't expect that turn.

„Does that include..?"

„Yes. Also that I broke the Statute of Secrecy to tell Alice. For a few minutes, I absolutely counted on my expulsion from school and a charge from the ministry for my crime. It would've been justified. But I was at my end. I didn't know what to do. I asked McGonagall to please let me see Alice. I told her that she needed me, that I couldn't bear the thought of not helping her…She… then really calmly asked me if I really would throw away my whole life for this. If I knew what this would mean for my future, if I had thought about my personal priorities clearly. I answered „yes" without a second thought. And you know what she did then?"

„What?" „She asked me for Alice's address and created a portkey out of a flask in her office. She told me to leave and come back before class started the next morning, the key would bring me back when I touched it for a second time."

„Okay, by now I am like 99% sure you're messing with me." Hermione shook her head. „There is _no way_ McGonagall would let slip such a _severe_ misconduct towards the school…hell, even the Ministry itself." Hermione really wanted to believe Hailey, but she hat true difficulties with that story. Hailey nodded thoughtfully.

„I definitely know what you mean. Don't misunderstand, I didn't believe her at first, either. But in the end, it's even more unbelievable she'd mess with me like that and lie about it." She held both of her hands over her head in a kind of ‚I don't know'-gesture, when Hermione arched an eyebrow. „I'm not messing with you, Jay, seriously. All I know is, that I've never seen McGonagall make a face like she did in that night. I bet she heard a lot of strange stuff since she'd become a teacher, but somehow it really struck a nerve with her. I have no clue why, though."

„Strange…you never found out why she would do that?"

„Never." Hailey shook her head. "But I also didn't ask." Then she yawned loudly. „It's gotten pretty late, hasn't it? I'll spare you the details about my trip that night, it's not a particularly happy part of that story. When I came back early in the next morning, McGonagall already waited for me, and so did Dumbledore. They had talked about the whole situation and Dumbledore and McGonagall both made me swear to never break the Statute again, Alissa being the only exception to that rule. A few days later, McGonagall even went to Liverpool with me to visit Alice. She talked to both of us together, making sure we understood the severity of the situation. Also, she set up a portable floo-connection in Alice's room that was connected to the fireplace in her office."

Hermione's eyes went large. „ _That's_ were you go when you said you're doing a floo-call, isn't it?!"

Hailey grinned and nodded. „Exactly. It's really the best option that I could've hoped for, or even better. I'll always be grateful to McGonagall for that, even if I have no clue how I even deserve that much. Sometimes, Alice and I still send each other letters though, but not really often. Seriously, Goliath likes to live with her more than he likes it here for some reason, so he mostly just hangs out at her place… really a helpful owl, I tell you. I _still_ need to use the school owls for most of my letters."

Hermione sighed, but smiled weakly at the girl. „I am really happy for how this turned out for you, seriously. But so much could've gone wrong with…everything. You know that, right?"

„Never knew something better in my life, seriously, Jean. But it still really feels like the right and only decision. Knowing you have that secret you want to share so badly, but don't know how? It felt like everything would depend on how I would handle the situation and... it probably did. I would to it again that way, without doubt. It was such a relief to finally be honest to her. And now it is like we share an even deeper, more special bond. Against all odds, you know?"

Hermione smiled tightly. „I think I can imagine somehow."

Hailey yawned again, this time, even louder. „Okay, what do you think we call it a day? I've seriously talked enough for now. "She smiled warmly." Thanks for listening to my story, Jay. It means a lot."

„Anytime, Hailey. Good night."

"Good night, Jay."

* * *

Hermione had been listening to Hailey's light snoring for about an hour now, but her mind was still racing, keeping her away completely from falling sleep.

The brunette just didn't feel sleepy at all. Too much input had been given to her in the last few hours. The story of Hailey and her girlfriend seemed so surreal to her, 24 hours ago she'd never even assumed something like that. McGonagall and even Dumbledore knew about it? If Hermione was honest to herself, she couldn't believe McGonagall to approve of such behavior at all. Whatever motivated her to help Hailey out at this point seemed at least to go way deeper than anything Hermione knew about the Professor personally. Hailey was absolutely right not to question her about this, but nonetheless...Hermione couldn't help but to feel a little curious.

As much as this part of the story had struck her, something else had subtly dingling in her mind with a strange aftertaste which successfully fought itself back on the foreground of her mind while musing over everything she'd heard from the girl. One point that was evident to Hermione was the overwhelming feelings that Hailey and Alissa seemed to have for another. And how much the Ravenclaw seemed to have missed the other one while they couldn't contact each other. It gave Hermione a most unpleasant feeling she first couldn't pinpoint. It took her a while until she understood what her mind felt so stricken about.

Not once, since she had changed the timeline, she had missed Ron like this.

 _Of course_ she missed him. She missed his jokes, his goofy behavior, even their constant bickering was something she caught herself remembering fondly. But in the same manner she missed Harry and Ginny. Even Luna, Neville and the Weasley's in general. Her parents. Her family and friends, she missed them all terribly. And all of them for their own special treats and reasons. But still. She missed all of them equally. She had never, also when away from Hogwarts, felt this pain Hailey had described when apart from her girlfriend.

 _What does that mean? I like him, don't I? Am I just getting paranoid now?_

She groaned, confused, clasping her hands in front of her face. In response, Hailey shifted a little in her sleep. Hermione held her breath until Hailey's breathing-rhythm had normalised again, then she slowly stood up, putting on her dressing gown and making her way down into the common room. She looked around for a bit. Even if it was dark, the rest of the shimmering coals in the chimney gave a soft, decent light that illuminated the room enough not to fall over something. The tower really was beautiful. But right now, her inner unrest didn't let her relax with this surroundings. She just felt like she needed to move, maybe a quick walk would give her the relaxation she needed to go to sleep? She tried not to wake the other girl in the process, but it seemed that Hailey was out for good by now. The countless empty butterbeer-bottles next to her bed had probably helped as well.

She was, carefully, not to get caught by a teacher, strolling around the castle, trying to build coherent thoughts out of the confusion in her head.

While strolling through the dark corridors, only illuminated by the occasional burst of moonlight trough a window, she collected her mind and tried to do what she'd try in general. Rationalise it.

 _The basic question is, if I still have feelings for Ron. Or if I ever had them in the first place._

 _I can't deny how jealous I got because of Lavender last year. And how sickening their relationship felt to me – but well, there weren't many who weren't creeped out by them I guess. And how happy I felt when they finally broke up. So yes, that definitely couldn't be so weak that I'd forget about them with just two month apart by now, wouldn't they? Maybe she was just another type of person than Hailey._ That would make sense, she'd always been very focused with a lot of things other than romance on her mind. Maybe that had been the difference? Hermione was almost satisfied with that answer. Almost. Still, something was still nagging at Hermione's thoughts, not letting her mind come near rest at all. It just seemed to go around in circles, not wanting to form a coherent answer to her thoughts.

Suddenly, she looked up as she stood in front of a door. She hadn't really paid attention to where she went for the last couple of minutes, mildly surprised she unconsciously had walked towards the quire room. Maybe it was because she mostly used to walk that way when it was already dark and nobody should see her? Deciding she wanted to sit down a little while, she opened the door carefully, only to get the next surprise of the evening.

„Jean?" A surprised voice caught her off guard.

„Bella?" The girl at the doorstep asked back. „Uh..what are you doing here?"

„Couldn't sleep." the girl that sat on the piano stool answered with a shrug. „So I thought I could maybe practice a little. How about you?"

„Same." She said, starting to close the door behind her, but stopping in the process. „Uh, at least about the sleeping-part, not the practice. I just came here on a spur…do you want to be alone?"

„Not really. It's not like I'm making much progress here."

She stood up from the piano and walked over towards a pair of chairs at the wall near Hermione. She sat down on one of them and gestured for Hermione to take a place next to her.

Slowly, she sat down, looking at the clearly worn out girl next to her. Bellatrix forrowed her brows at her. „Huh, you're not waring your glasses?" Hermione mentally slapped herself.

 _Damn, of course I forgot them in my room._

„Yeah, I mostly need them during the day for reading so…so you can't sleep?" She tried to change the subject. „Why?"

„Uh…the usual." Bellatrix shuffled, a little nervous. „I just somehow did a lot of thinking. A lot of circling thoughts I can't really get the grasp of." She snickered. „ I guess it's kind of too loud in my head right now? Really keeps me from relaxing my mind. How about you?"

„Exactly the same." Hermione admitted, resting her head against the wall behind her. „It's rather annoying."

„Sure is."

They made some smalltalk for a few minutes, before they slowly fell silent over time, leaving both of them to their thoughts. It was a comfortable quiet, more of a shared, accompanied silence than an awkward one. Before both of them knew it, they drifted into a deep slumber, shoulder to shoulder with Hermione's head resting comfortably at Bellatrix'.

* * *

That's it for today, guys! Thanks for accepting the huge OC-Parts in these two chapters - it's necessary for what I plan with the story, but they were an exception nonetheless, the focus will be on the main characters again next time.

Also, I feel like I need to explain - or, at least, hint, on that part with Professor McGonagall. If you're not aware of her background-story, I'd recommend to read her biography on the harry potter-wiki (since that part wasn't featured in the books), I know it would look severely OOC for McGonagall to disobey the law without a good reason ;)

Also, J.K. had been not completely coherent regarding both the ‚Trace' and the ‚Statute of Secrecy', regarding the boundaries and such. This probably works in my favor right now, so I won't complain, since I write about it how I'd imagine it to be used in that world. There is simply no way there's no breaching of this happening sometimes.

So, hope you enjoyed and see you soon!

Krso93: That's part of the story in later chapters, can't really spoil it to you here ;) But at some point, the story will deal with this question, I can promise that much

queenofevilsmirks: Yeah, I see the point in OC's getting too much screen-time, but it's kind of important to the story's „late-game" to merge everything so it'll work for what I've planned. These 1 1/2 chapters were an exception, it's nothing I intend to continue further in the story, but I felt like it needed to be done (also, most of the reviews were really kind when I introduced the idea about an oc-chapter, so I hoped you all would forgive me if I went a little overboard^^)

Dani: Yeah, sorry again it took so long. I hope to update more frequently in the future :) I'm glad you're still in for the run!


	18. Chapter 18

Well, my updating-game could use a little step up, I know, but I hope it will become better in the next months. My goal is to go for a chapter every 2-3 weeks. It's something? Enjoy! (And sorry for mistakes with grammar etc., there could be a few I guess)

* * *

Chapter 18 – Preparations

„I ain't feeling lonely

And I wonder when its time to end the right

They need to slowly

With those, gonna lift me up this time

You were the only

One who got me tripping up inside."

Wateva, ‚See U'

* * *

„…ean."

Hermione stirred in her sleep, some sound next to her ear trying to wake her up. She felt incredibly comfortable right now though, and it was one of those rare occasions where she didn't quite feel like waking up yet. So she mumbled something and buried her face deeper into her pillow.

„ _Jean_!"

With a slight groan she shifted, slowly opening her eyes. She realised a little late that she didn't seem to lie in her bed and what she had expected to be her pillow apparently were a stock of dark curls she had buried her head in earlier. Her left arm was draped around a body in a soft, black night gown and when she slightly shifted her head, she looked into two large, almost black eyes.

„Good morning."

Hermione shrieked a little, jerking away from Bellatrix, quickly removing her hand from her waist and hitting her head at the wall behind her in the process.

They still sat in the same position than the day before and apparently had fallen asleep at some point.

Bella laughed as Hermione rubbed her head with a slightly pained expression.

„Sorry, that wasn't my intention."

„Uh, no problem." Hermione said with a slight blush, moderately embarrassed by her former sleeping position and the unintended close proximity they…well, had, in hindsight, probably shared the whole night.

„When did you wake up?"

„Just a few moments ago." She still smirked a little. „I almost contemplated to let you sleep, you looked rather cute. But I guess we should head back to our dorms, when we don't exactly want to get asked why we spent the night outside of our dorms."

Hermione firmly shook her head and slowly her brain started to function properly. Also, Bellatrix was right. It was still dark outside, just enough grey started to mix in for them to make out the outline of the room. Hopefully still dark enough for her slight blush to go unnoticed after Bella's joke earlier.

„Good point. Let's go, then."

Both stood up, quietly leaving the quire room behind. They walked silently, the whole situation a little awkward. It wasn't common for both of them to be silent which didn't help the overall atmosphere. Hermione couldn't deny to feel a little relieved as soon as they had to part ways so they could go to their respective dorms.

„So…see you later?"

„Yeah, see you."

And both walked away without saying anything more. Hermione seriously hoped this atmosphere wouldn't last long.

„Oooooh, look who decided to show up this _morning?"_ The eagle-knocker asked mockingly as soon as Hermione approached the entrance to the Ravenclaw-Tower.

„Me." Hermione simply said. „Now, open up."

„You very well know you first have to answer a riddle, so-„

„You get to ask me a _question_. It's not my fault if you ask something rhetorical." She states, arching an eyebrow. Her back had started to hurt from the strange position she'd slept in that night and she simply didn't feel like discussing longer with the nosy door gadget. „Now let me in, _Charlene_."

A few seconds of silence followed until the door slowly opened up.

„Your company changes you for the worse."

Hermione only snorted at that.

* * *

The last weeks before Christmas were more stressful than Hermione could've imagined. Dee luckily had come back the day after Hailey had told Hermione her story, saying she felt fine. When the others asked her about it in further detail, she just shrugged and said she wouldn't drink something again so easily Phil would send her. She seemed so unfazed by the whole situation that Hermione and Hailey only shared a concerned look but didn't provoke another conversation about it. When they were confronted with the new, pre-christmas workload, she _had_ complained that a few more days of relaxing in the infirmary wouldn't have hurt her. Hailey had slapped the back of her head for that statement.

The Professors had decided to stuff them with _so_ much work even the brunette herself struggled at some points to keep up with everything, especially in more demanding classes like transfiguration. McGonagall seemed determined to bring them all to N.E.W.T's level before Christmas even started. They groaned over another two-feet-essay she'd given them about the book ‚ _The conjured and the vanished –the transcendence of Metamagic_ ' which left the classroom with a lot of screams of protest – They've read the introduction for the last lesson and most of the students didn't understand half of it. Hailey highly debated just not writing the essay, since most of her credits had already been given through her last project. Only a stern reminder of Dee and Hermione what it meant to be a _Ravenclaw_ could somehow convince her to at least try.

Not much easier than transfiguration were their DADA- and Arithmancy-lessons at this point. Cranes seemed to want to exhaust their duelling-abilities more then ever, while Vector wanted them to solve problems of yet unknown difficulty. But since Hermione was clearly the unchallenged ace in the one subjects and friends with the star of the other one, they managed those classes without major difficulties – A fairly good deal for both of them.

The Arithmancy-class itself had an additional perk to it. It was quiet and demanding enough that it didn't even looked strange when Bella and Hermione talked to each other in class sometimes to discuss something, especially since Professor Vector encouraged them to work together on some of the projects. At least if they didn't get _too_ friendly with each other. On those occasions, when she sat next to Bella, quietly discussing some of the trickier parts of their formulas, Hermione mused if those moments were peeks into a reality where she could've been normal friends with Bella, without the countless difficulties they had to face. No blood-purity, the same timeline, no wars ahead. Every time Bella rolled her eyes goodheartedly, poked her with her quill to get her attention towards a specific part or just smirked in her direction, her stomach churned.

 _What if…_

It felt ridiculous how far off this ‚what if' seemed to be.

* * *

Even if every house had to suffer under the newly found intensity of their school life, especially the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs looked more desperate every day, since their next Quidditch-encounter had been scheduled right before the break. At least the more sports-eager students saw this as a huge disadvantage. Quidditch-training seemed to happen almost every day, leaving both students and teachers often exhausted and at each others throats.

The Quidditch itself wouldn't bother Hermione so much herself, since she'd neither participate in any training nor exorbitant fan-preparation before a game. No, the only thing this would occasionally disturb were her weekly to bi-weekly meetings with Talos about his transfiguration-training. Even if it costed some of the time she'd use to study otherwise, she had promised him. Additionally, it also worked as a good practice for herself to teach. They wanted to meet this afternoon again, two days before the holidays would start, but Talos was - _again_ \- late.

Hermione just started to get impatient as she had waited for about 10 minutes without any signal from him when he stormed through the door, huffing, since he'd obviously run.

„I'm–„

„Late." Hermione arched an eyebrow.

„–sorry. And yeah, late. But also sorry." He sighed, putting his bag next to one of the desks.

„But I have a good reason!" He continued, now grinning. „McGonagall approached me. She said my performance in transfiguration became so much better, she will _not_ put me on hold for the game tomorrow and the Quidditch-saison in general. So, you're officially off duty."

Hermione was pleasantly surprised at this information. „Talos, this is awesome! Congratulations, you did it!" A second later she added. „And this really didn't feel like a duty, I was glad to help. It also was great practice for myself."

Talos shook his head. „Still, I got the _way_ better end of the deal here. You can't imagine how thankful I am to you about this. Seriously."

„Alright." Hermione grinned. One last time? As a kind of final ritual?"

Talos grinned back. „You bet. _Avifors_." With now practiced ease he flicked his wand in the direction of a bookshelf, about 20 of the books vanished and an equivalent of canary birds in different shades of yellow and orange came to live. chirping happily and flying in circles around the room. They had started every lesson, as some kind of habit with this charm, keeping track on Talos' progress.

Hermione nodded satisfied. „Yeah, you're pretty much fine now. You'll manage everything else on your own, I'm sure."

He nodded slowly, glancing at her. „Yeah, I actually think so, too. But it wouldn't have been possible without you in the first place. And I never thanked you properly for this. Well, until now. Therefore…-" He strolled back to his bag, and starting to rummage around in it. „I got something for you."

Hermione felt taken aback, standing up from her desk herself. „Talos, you _really_ didn't have to–„ „Yeaah, I know, you're one of those people." He said with a good-hearted eye roll. „But I, in fact, insist, let me just…" He trailed of, searching in his bag again. As the search took its time and became more frantic, the situation started to become awkward. After about a minute, he finally gave up. „Uh…okay. This may be the most embarrassing moment of my life, but I think I forgot it in my dorm." Hermione smiled sympathetically. „Hey, seriously, it's okay. I don't mind."

He ruffled his blonde hair, clearly disappointed at himself. He crunched his face for a second, as if being in deep thought. Then suddenly looking up at Hermione.

„Hey, look, would you mind accompanying me to my dorm so I can get it there?" He could probably see Hermione's hesitance the second he formulated the question, so he tried again.

„Look, I know you're pretty busy, but you don't need to teach my from today on, so you've got a little spare time instead." He looked with a pleading expression at her." _Please_. It's really important to me and I go back home the day after tomorrow, this might be the last chance before the holidays, knowing your workload."

There was nothing Hermione could argue against it. He was right, since she didn't actually need to tutor him anymore, she had a little time to free use. So no harm in following him to the Hufflepuff-

 _Wait._

The Hufflepuff-dorm. So manipulative. So easy. She would somehow feel like betraying his trust. But wouldn't it be worth it? This whole debate took only a few seconds in the brunette's head, before smiling at him.

„Sure."

He visibly lightened up when she said this. „Awesome, let's go."

Together they went down towards the dungeons, near the direction where Hermione knew the kitchen was. They went down one corridor a little further, until they stood in front of a large cluster of barrels. Talos gave her some side-glance. „Uhm…look, in general it's not a problem for students from other houses to visit other dorms – well, except for Slytherin maybe – but with the game tomorrow it may not be the best Idea to–"

„Oh yeah, sure." Hermione said nonchalantly, going a few steps back and leaning against a wall.

He looked relieved she didn't seem to mind, smiled and turned around, facing the walls again.

As soon as he looked away, Hermione quickly grabbed her wand in her bag, carefully aiming it in Talos direction. _Auscultos maxima. Spectatos maxima._ A few seconds later: _finite_.

Before a small opening could emerge, her wand was safely tucked into her bag again. When Talos turned around again, Hermione looked like she hadn't moved at all.

„Give me two minutes, okay?"

„Sure."

As soon as he vanished, she couldn't help but smile pleased at herself. Even if she felt a little bit guilty at somehow having played Talos, this was an opportunity that was practically handed to her on a silver platter. And well, the end justifies the means in this case.

She dutifully waited for a moment, but Talos came out of his dorm pretty quickly, holding something behind his back. Hermione pretty much was still on a high from her earlier maneuver, only now realising the reason again why she seemingly had agreed to follow her acquaintance here. He walked towards her, now his expression seemed a bit…unsure?

 _Wait…what–_

„Look, Jean, thank you _so_ much again! Quidditch basically means everything to me and without your help I probably wouldn't have been able to play the last year I'm even attending Hogwarts.

So, here. „Now he took his hands away from his back, putting something into Hermione's arms. The first thing was a large box of chocolates from _honeydukes_. The other one an unlabelled envelope.

„Uhm, look." He started as soon as her eyes had caught the envelope, frowning. „I…okay, I'd really hate it if the end of the tutoring would mean that I could stop seeing you. I mean, with just the two of us."

It took Hermione a second, but as soon as she understood, her eyes jerked up, she felt her cheeks started to burn. Hastily, Talos continued. „I know you're pretty busy with your studies, but look, the envelope contains two tickets to a concert that's hosted in hogsmead and scheduled for our next trip in January. It would be awesome to get to know you better, so if you want to…" He trailed of, looking expectantly at her, smiling shyly.

Hermione gulped. In hindsight, it was probably naive not to expect something like this, but her academic self-awareness had never really extended to the emotional level. It came as pretty surprising to her, actually getting asked out by the guy in front of her. Which probably was _also_ because he thought the longest time he and Hailey had a thing. But well, again, in hindsight a lot of things made sense this way. When he wouldn't talk to her for a while in the beginning. Not because of disinterest, but shyness.

When he finally wanted to talk to her on Halloween. Probably already planning something like that.

And the way he looked at her, she could imagine that a few girls in the past years had fallen for him. He was athletic and easy going, light blond locks and blue eyes making him look fairly good and giving him a calming aura. Overall, he was a good guy, friendly and charismatic. She could imagine pretty well a situation where they wen't to goo to that concert, having a laugh and a good time.

„I am really sorry, but it's impossible." Hermione said, friendly, but determined.

She almost could see imaginary dog-ears drop. „Oh, I see."

„Look, it's not your fault, it's just not a good timing right now."

He smiled weakly at her excuse. Even if she knew it wasn't exactly a lie, she could hear it was feeble-sounding.

„Really, it's okay. I actually imagined you saying no, you never showed…that kind of interest. I just had to try. So I wouldn't regret it later."

„Still, sorry. You're a good guy, I know that." She gave him back the envelope, which he received with a defeated shrug of his shoulders, but he gestured that she should keep at least the chocolate.

He drew his hand through his hair, sighing. „Yeah, sure, being a good guy is always great." He shrugged again. „But I take it." Now he almost was back to his regular smile. „I understand, seriously. But if there should, at some point, be…well, a better timing, let me know, okay?" Now there mixed a little smugness into his expression. „At least now, you know _I'm_ interested."

Hermione blushed again, but before she could answer, he waved at her and strolled back to his common room.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she watched him enter his dorm again, _this_ time without any magical spying-assistance. She shook her head, leaving the dungeons.

 _Good thing he didn't drop that before I could sneak the information, I'd probably failed in that case._

* * *

The day before all the students would go back to their homes for Christmas was also where the last Quidditch-game of the year had been scheduled. The pressure of studying had fallen off of most of the students, now relaxing for the last event they could share with their friends this year.

Dee, Hailey and Hermione sat together for an extensive breakfast, while the first students had already started going towards the exit of the great hall and towards the Quidditch pitch. „Wanna head there, too?" Hermione asked, finishing her tea.

The other girls agreed, so they slowly made their way down the castle towards the pitch.

Hermione saw Bella and a few other Slytherins as they followed some of the other students, including her middle-sister, walking a few meters beside them.

Bella caught her eyes and offered a very small lift of her eyebrows as a greeting, most of the others probably didn't see them or interpreted it as a taunt. Hermione tried not to react at all, Bella had already averted her attention again. She wanted to shift her gaze again, but then she got caught off guard by another stare.

Andromeda Black was staring at her curiously.

She remembered what Bella had told her a few days earlier. ‚ _She wants to meet you.'_

Slowly Andromeda averted her gaze again, Hermione gulped. Meeting Andromeda Black could become complicated. She was the only Black Sister she had a fair chance of meeting in her own time, it was dangerous to get involved with her here. On the other hand, she really couldn't tell Bella any good reason _not_ to meet her sister, since it also seemed to mean much to the girl Hermione considered a friend – at least in this timeline.

She sighed. _‚This is something to think about later.'_

20 Minutes later, almost all of the students had gathered around the pitch, including Hermione and the other two girls, watching as Madame Hooch entered the field, followed by the players. The shrill sound of a whistle and fourteen brooms shot into the air.

The game was in full force after only a few minutes, the seekers circling the field in large loops, while a literal war happened underneath them. Surprisingly, the Ravenclaw-team had made huge improvements since their last game, according to Hailey this was thanks to three major changes in the team, which consisted of two of the chasers and the keeper. Hufflepuff had surprising difficulties breaking through the lines of the Ravenclaws, while still being the superior team overall. They led with a solid 50:10 after 15 minutes - which would've probably been a 100:0 without the changes in the team. But still, this overall change was important enough for Ravenclaw being an actual threat towards the victory of Hufflepuff, since the Ravenclaw-Seeker was a pretty talented girl. Sandra Sparrow, Hermione had always thought she'd remember this name from somewhere, but just when she observed the girls moves in greater detail, it hit her. Ginny had talked a lot about her, being one of the best Seekers the Holyhead harpies ever had. Right now though, the sixth year was brought out of balance from a bludger that was shot in her direction. It seemed to be a miracle itself that she was able to not fall of her broom, maneuvering a very impressive vertical spin to avoid the threat.

The attention of the whole school literally got snitched away when the Hufflepuff-Seeker which name Hermione couldn't even remember used that opportunity to close his hand over the small golden ball in front of him.

Sensual overload from all sites.

House Hufflepuff broke loose, everybody screaming and the whole team crushing the Seeker and also Talos in a giant hug, since their combined last move practically decided the game for them. Hermione pitied the Ravenclaws, that actually had played rather well this round, even more the Captain, kicking one of the Ring-posters right now right now, her team around her, patting her shoulder sympathetically. In Hermione's opinion she had proven to be way more skilled through her moves than the other players, but this information wouldn't probably help her right now. Moreover, since it was kind of Hermione's fault the guy who decided the game was even allowed to play. Hailey next to her sighed defeated while Dee's face, despite rubbing the shoulderblades of her friend sympathetically, still had a distinct expression of boredom written on it.

The first students had started walking off, either wanting to cheer on their team or going back to the castle in varying states of brooding.

„So…wanna go back as well and grab a butterbeer? I don't think I can handle Talos smug expression before when we go back to London tomorrow." Hailey sighed. There would be plenty of time to congratulate Talos on his admittedly amazing shot, but right now, with so much deflated Ravenclaws around, it probably wasn't the right time for it. All agreed to return to the Ravenclaw-tower and relax until they had to go to bed early in the morning, at least Hailey and Dee, for the matter. Their last day together was overall relaxed. They chatted, laughed a lot and Hailey and Dee told her what they and their particular significant others had planned for their reunion.

It made Hermione smile, but she couldn't deny feeling a little envious of them. It let her back to her birthday, where she had felt fairly solitary, now reliving this particular, uncomfortable feeling of an important live-event which didn't include most of the people she cared about, with no means to contact them. The only thing that made her feel better this time was that she could do something with actual purpose this Christmas.

And she wouldn't even do it alone.

* * *

The next morning, an overall hurry had settled over the whole castle. Eating a few slices of toast between wishing goodbye to all of their friends they wouldn't see for over a week.

Hailey, Dee and Hermione had exchanged presents back in their dormroom, promising each other to not open them until the 25th and writing each other about it.

Hermione accompanied them towards the entrance of the castle, where Talos waited for them. She hugged both of her friends good bye, then glancing towards Talos unsure how to act towards him, since they didn't really talk since Hermione rejected him. He rolled his eyes in good nature and engulfed her in a short hug.

„See you in a few, J. Hope you won't be bored since there's never many students around during the winterholidays. Seriously, I think there isn't a single Hufflepuff left this year, which may be completely new."

Hermione smiled, relieved their relationship hadn't taken a turn for the awkward.

„I think I can manage. Have a good time at home, all of you!"

They waved at Hermione one last time and off they were. Hermione looked after them for a few moments before hurrying back into the castle.

While trailing along the castle, she realised she actually didn't have much to do right now, maybe for the first time in weeks. So she could as well go into the library and start with her winter-homework right now. Yes, even she realised how over the top it was to start on the first day of holidays, but she didn't know how much time she would have later, regarding the quest. She didn't even had the opportunity to tell Bella about her accomplishments regarding the Hufflepuff-common-room. But she didn't know were Bella was right now - probably still sleeping since she hadn't seen her at breakfast in the great hall – and she had no means of contacting her right now, so she could might as well wait until they met at some other point. While making her way to the library, she frowned over this impractical situation she hadn't thought about until now. It appeared to be essential that they could contact each other during class or while being in their different dorms in secret, there ways of communication had been harshly restricted, even for the wizarding time. Wasn't there any other way than per owl for them to… _oh_.

She rolled her eyes that it took her so long to think about this, before entering the library, plans for her homework put on hold for now.

‚ _At least the penny dropped.'_

Even in her head, this pun sounded bad.

* * *

She had worked for approximately two hours when someone cleared her throat at the entrance to the restricted section, by now Hermione's favorite place to work. She looked up from her books and smiled.

„Figures you'd be here." Bella said nonchalantly, strolling towards her.

„Oh, and what is it _you_ are doing here? The brunette said in a mock challenge, smiling at the girl that let herself fall into the chair next to her.

„Mostly, I wanted to get away from my sisters that were constantly arguing about some irrelevant rubbish." She rolled her eyes. „Also, I thought I could as well get it over with the damn paper for McGonagall. I had actually hoped you'd be here, to discuss it with you."

If Ron or Harry had said something like this to Hermione, she would've known that „discussing" would be the equivalent to ‚copying'. Discussing school stuff with Hailey and Dee was mostly nice, but at the crucial points they often were lost on Hermione's thoughts, not seeing the need in over-exaggerating everything scholastic. But, ‚discussing' work with Bella almost every time led to kontrovers talks about one or more points about their work or even magic in general.

So it was not an exaggeration when she said the following. „Sure, I'd love to."

„Furthermore…since now most of the students have left Hogwarts, the next _phase_ can finally begin. There could just be one problem." Bella said, carefully. „Such as?" Bella sighed heavily. „I heard some of the Badgers in the morning while they walked the great hall. Its highly possible there isn't even a single one left to bribe or manipulate for the password…this could become difficult."

„Oh, that." Hermione said, casually. „Well, it could be inconvenient… _if_ I hadn't solved that problem yesterday."

Bella actually made big eyes, seemingly surprised. „You got the password?!" „Well, technically it's not a password. But I'm pretty sure I know how to get into the dorms. It's not that difficult actually." Bella leaned back in her chair, surprise obvious on her face wich let Hermione to an involuntary grin. „I don't know what to say. Well done, I guess. How did you do it?" Now Hermione's grin slowly dropped, reminded of the questionable way she got hold of the crucial information.

„Uhm, I kind of ‚stole' the information from Dee's Brother Talos after our last tutoring-class, when we were in front of the Hufflepuff-dorm!

„Oh I see." Bella said, but suddenly eyed her in slight suspicion. „Why have you been down there, actually?" „Oh…he- he just wanted to give me something as a thank you - as you saw in the last game, McGonagall let him play." The Slytherin thought about it for a moment, then sighed. „Yeah…he actually is a strong addition to the team, I must admit." Hermione didn't actually know why she didn't tell Bella the whole truth behind it, but she surely didn't feel like discussing this with Bella wo would surely mock her to no end about it."

„Okay, so we got access to the common room, if none of the badgers is actually in the dorm, even better – we just need a good opportunity now."

„Exactly." Then, Hermione remembered something. „I got something for you, by the way. Think of it as an early Christmas present." Hermione added lightly, throwing something in Bella's lap.

She took the item into her hand and inspected it. „Uh, thanks? Do you want to tell me I should get new robes or something?" She held the golden galleon between her thumb and index-finger.

Hermione rolled her eyes. „If it's you I'd actually have expected to understand what this is about."

She took another coin from her pocket, lifted her wand and murmured a charm, wand directed at the coin. Bella yelped as the coin began to heat up in her hand, she eyed it until she looked at the rim, eyes became wide again. „Your robes are alright, I guess." she read out loud grinning and rolling her eyes but still sounding mildly impressed. „Whoa… _protean charm_ , right?"

„Yeah."

„…Smart. As hell." She admitted while flipping the coin above her head, expertly catching it between two fingers again. It seems like she'd make a formidable Seeker as well. „This will make thinks a lot easier, I guess." The Now-Ravenclaw just grinned smugly at the compliment.

The rest of the day seemed to be a mix between calculating the best moment for their mission and actually working on their homework for the next semester.

Not a bad day at all.

* * *

On the morning of the 24th, Hermione woke up relatively late – classes were over, her and Bella had actually finished quite a big chunk of their homework over the holidays, so she didn't see any need to get to breakfast as early as usual. After a long shower she finally decided to go down in the great hall, which looked quite different than the days before. The Christmas decorations had been up for a few days already, but, probably since the school was almost emptied out, they had changed the big house-tables for a few smaller, round ones in front of the teachers-tables. It had an Café like atmosphere, every table draped within the colors of their houses, except for the middle one where the teachers sat, which had a dark burgundy tone to it. Since Hermione couldn't spot a yellow-black-draped table, she assumed Talos had been correct in his observation: Hufflepuff really was emptied out this year.

 _Perfect_.

She sat down on the Ravenclaw-Table where three other people had already taken a seat. Two girls from the fifth year that Hermione had seen around as well as a third year boy, who looked kind of shy and overwhelmed by the situation. Still, everybody greeted her friendly and sometimes even light conversation came up between them.

There were six people on the Gryffindor-table. When Hermione looked closer, she could see two boys from maybe third or fourth grade that talked eagerly with each other, as well as the other group of people - two guys and two girls that Hermione could recognize as part of the Gryffindor-quidditch team. They were bend over a piece of paper, discussing something while scribbling occasionally on it. It seemed like they had stayed back to train and Hermione couldn't decide if she was impressed or weirded out by that much fighting spirit. Finally, the Slytherin table harbored five people. The three Black Sisters, as well as two other girls. One around the age of Narcissa, intensely talking to her right now. The other one, an older girl - sixth or seventh grade - Hermione hadn't seen before. She picked disinterested around her food, while often glancing around, strangely interested in the conversations around her. Hermione's attention snapped back to the smaller teacher-table as soon as Dumbledore cleared his throat.

„Welcome dear students, teachers…as few as we actually are right now." He chuckled a little. „It seemed really ridiculous to use the big house tables, so I hope this new arrangement works in favor for all of us these holidays. We try to make this a little less about the membership to a certain house…or peer group, but maybe give everything a little…personal _touch_. Dumbledore snickered lightly and, with a joy that wouldn't be misplaced on a child, charmed part of the continuously falling snowflakes above his table to come down in rainbow-colours.

„Now, though, without further notion – eat!"

The old wizard clapped his hands and suddenly all different kinds of food appeared, as usual, in front of them. While eying the different dishes in front of her, Hermione put a bunch of roasted vegetables on her plate, munching happily while talking about the ongoing schoolyear with one of the other Ravenclaw-students. Suddenly, a voice behind her called. „Excuse me, Miss Gabor, but could you help me to a serving of those roasted potatoes?" She turned her head around to see Dumbledore standing beside her, looking hopefully to one of the bowls in front of her. She hurried to put some on his plate. „Well, thank you a lot." He smiled and winked, walking away, but not back to his table, but sitting down next to one of the Gryffindor-students, who choked on his pumpkin juice as Dumbledore casually spoke to him, asking for some joint on his table. It was something Hermione just started to notice now, some of the students had shifted towards the other tables. The original purpose seemed to be food, since every table somehow held different food and dishes. If someone wanted to eat something particular, he needed to walk to one of the other tables. It felt a little awkward and forced on the first moment, but sooner or later Hermione could feel how the tables got more and more mixed up. As soon as dessert was served, she could see Narcissa Black and one of the younger Ravenclaw-girls sit together at the Slytherin-table, enjoying a large pieces of chocolate cake, giggling together.

Hermione smiled at this evolvement, even shortly arguing to sit next to Bella for a piece of that same cake as she observed her for a few moments. She decided against it, though. Not because of the audience in general, since they were few enough a little distant conversation would probably been forgotten soon – no, right now she was engaged in a conversation with her other sister, Andromeda, whom Hermione still had not talked to. She knew it had to happen _sometime_ , but now just didn't seem the right environment.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a gaze on her. She quickly looked around and saw Dumbledore, now at the teachers table again, looking at her with the piercing gaze she knew well from her own timeline, much more because Harry had been the target of it but her. Right now though, his attention lied on her clearly, his eyes giving none emotion away, though. She tried to hold his gaze, for some reason not wanting to back down now. After a few seconds, a smile tucked at his face and he smoothly engaged Professor Vector in a swift talk in the matter of seconds.

Despite the rather few numbers of students Christmas lunch turned out to be a rather long affair, since the ghosts of hogwarts and half of the teaching staff had planned something out for the rather small amount of students that still resided at the castle. Almost everyone participating in the fun and shenanigans they had planned out – Flitwick and Dumbledore being the most enthusiastic ones – and Hermione almost spit out her juice when one of the countless magical shootingstars Flitwick hat conjured as part of a beautiful lightshow threw McGonagalls hat from her head.

Even House Slytherin participated, Bella did with a good amount of eye-rolling and the occasional wink towards Hermione though, which she always needed to hide a smirk at. Only the other, older girl from Slytherin seemed to have gone off at some point, obviously thinking such a silly activity was way beneath her. When they finally all went back to their dorms, it was almost time for tea and Hermione spent the rest of the day reading and lazying around, relaxed in spite of the events that would happen in the next days. She fell, in bed early, surprisingly exhausted by the day. In fact, she was so tired that she almost missed the soft glow and increasing heat of the coin in her pocket while she got ready to sleep. When she realised what it meant, she quickly shook her tired state and pulled out the golden coin. She smiled and shook her head.

 _Not the intended purpose, actually, but I take it._

‚ _Good Night Jean, see you tomorrow.'_

Hermione chuckled and charmed an answer, before finally drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 _Well yeah, is there actually anyone still interested in the story? If you have the time, let me know through a review. It simply is the only feedback we get, so it would be pretty much appreciated :) See you later, folks!_

 _queenofevilsmirks: glad you liked the idea, I can't spoiler, obviously, but I can promise it will be relevant in later chapters :)_

 _Darksnow3: thank you a lot - as always - for your lovely feedback,_

 _fackenthalh: there you go, even if my updates still are irregular af ._


	19. Chapter 19

Okay. My time-management DOES sucks, I admit it! Sorry I had to let you wait for so long, I seriously thought I could pull this off sooner. Furthermore: I was incredibly moved by your responses, if you're still interested in the story. Thank you SO much for your kind reviews, guys 3 I will finish this story and if I die trying (ok, maybe not so drastic, but there is seriously no reason to worry I'll abandon ‚towto', it just take a little time to upload. Thanks for bearing with me, you guys really are awesome!

So, enjoy! (That Chapter will, just that it won't get confusing since I normally don't do that, POV-parts from both Hermione and Bella! Also, I'm sorry for any mistakes and so on in the story, not enough time for decent proofreading, as always!)

Chapter 19 – Vertigo

* * *

„I feel you in the wind chill

And it's so real, straight through my bones

I can only just imagine

Your passion, you take me home."

‚Ease my mind', Hayley Kiyoko

* * *

‚ _Don't think I didn't saw how you charmed those baubles to smack them into Slughorn's head. Good night."_

Bella chuckled when she read Jean's text on the coin – even if the space per message was rather limited, it really was an outstanding idea of the brunette to communicate that way. She couldn't even be jealous that she didn't think of this of her own.

„What's so funny about a coin?" When Bella lifted her head, the sight of her sister Andromeda was presented to her, casually leaning against the doorframe, a small smile and a raised eyebrow on her face. Smoothly, Bella let the coin glide into her pocket, rolling her eyes at Andromeda. „Nothing, obviously, I just remembered something. What's up, Andy? I feel kind of tired, to be honest." It wasn't even a lie, a stifled moan accentuated her argument quite nicely.

„Yeah, me too." Andy waved her hand dismissively. „I won't keep you long. I just wanted to ask…you know, tomorrow. We'll have a lot of free time, right?"

„Right…?" Bella repeated the word somewhere between a statement and a question herself, not really sure where her sister was going with it.

„Do you think I could meet… _her_ , then?"

Bella, who had superficially started to search for her sleeping gown, stopped in her tracks, eyeing her sister warily. After a few seconds, she broke the silence.

„Um, I have to ask her, obviously, but I don't think it should be a problem…probably?"

„Great!" Andy exhaled, relieve obvious in her voice. As if she expected Bella to suddenly bail on her former promise. „You'll let me know if it works out?"  
„Sure."

„Alright… see you, then Good night." And without a further comment, her sister left, obviously happy to be finished with this conversation.

Bella stared after her for a few seconds, then sighed long and deeply. She had to ask Jean tomorrow when they could meet up… it really shouldn't be too difficult with most of the students away. Andy was right, it really _was_ the perfect opportunity. Better get it over with before their next quest as well.

Why was she so nervous, then?

Bella continued to get ready for bed, trying to pinpoint the strange and vaguely uncomfortable feeling she had about this whole situation.

It somehow felt like two worlds that would collide and she just couldn't calculate the consequences this would result in. She basically had no Idea what she should expect from the encounter of those witches.

On the one hand, her sister. Part of the pureblood world, _her_ world, where she was supposed to be, have a future and _believe_ in what appeared more and more impossible to her. For years, Andromeda happened to be the only person to somehow keep her sane despite the lingering doubts she held in her way of life. The doubt she always _knew_ Andromeda held as well, so similar to her own, even if they barely talked about it. In retrospective, the sheer knowledge of another being in the same situation was comforting itself. On the other hand, Jean, the muggleborn girl she by now considered a companion, a friend, someone she could _trust_. Someone who showed her parts of another world she was mostly forbidden to know about, as well as sharing both accomplishment and hardships, even a possibly dangerous _secret_ , making her last year at this school the best she's ever had. It had even been easier to be honest with her than with her sister, even if this had never been planned in the first place.

Both of the girls knew her, somehow, maybe in different shades, different aspects, but, nonetheless, the real her. ‚ _We meet on even ground on that, they're both people you trust, so no need to be so nervous there.'_ Bella tried to convince herself. A part of the knots in her stomach actually loosened at this mental conclusion, but something was still keeping her from her sleep at this point.

In the solitude of the room she didn't have to share over the holidays, she allowed herself a more childish trail of thoughts.

What if they didn't like each other? What if they _did_?

The remaining knots in her stomach tightened at this thought. She knew it was unlikely, or rather impossible, that Jean would ask Andromeda to join them in their quest…she didn't even know if it was possible to do so, now that they had progressed further in their tasks. Despite not liking it, that thought gave her a strange sense of security.

‚ _It's not like she actually wanted_ you _on the team… you pretty much extorted the mudblood, dear.'_

 _Shut it!_

Bella groaned in slight frustration, ruffling her hair. No sense in overthinking anything right now, she would get her answers soon enough.

Luckily, she slowly drifted into sleep now, still trying to ignore the acidic chuckle that accompanied her thoughts.

* * *

When Hermione woke the next morning, strong rays of sunshine shone through the windows of her dorm room, that felt strangely empty and lonely without the other two girls in it. She stretched and got up, squinting her eyes at the bright sunlight that greeted her. Before everything else, she stood up and walked to the nearest window, drinking in the sight that was presented to her. When she went to sleep last night, the weather had been anything but friendly, a strong snowstorm ripped through the grounds of Hogwarts. Right now though, it had almost completely settled, leaving a gorgeous snow-covered sight to the brunettes eyes. The lake partly frozen, presented it's glittering presence in all its glory on this Christmas morning.

 _Right, Christmas._ Hermione remembered, turning to her bed once again. And indeed she saw a small stack of packages in front of her, three pieces in total.

The first package she opened contained a beautiful Quill, shimmering in different kinds of light to deep blue. As she contemplated which bird this could've belonged to, she read Dee's Christmas note with a warm smile. _‚Dear Jean, Merry Christmas to you! I hope you like the Quill - I charmed it myself. And before you throw it away instantly, it's nothing dangerous, I promise! The only perks of the charm are its colour and that the ink will always smell a little bit of peppermint. Anyway, see you soon! Love, Dee.'_

The second present she opened was square and flat in form. It appeared to be a beautifully carved, wooden frame with a picture of Hermione, Dee and Hailey in it. Hermione even remembered the occasion a few weeks ago where they, or rather Talos, had taken it. She had been reluctant to be part of a photo, since it would be a clear evidence of herself being in this timeline if someone happened to notice it. She had to admit is was very unlikely, so she agreed to be in the picture. She studied her and her friends picture-doubles with a grin, since her photo-self transpired her reluctance somehow, always trying to stand behind the others or in the shadow of a tree, but the other girls would've none of it, pulling and shoving her next to them, grinning and hugging.

It was a lovely shot, despite the little squabble they all seemed having fun, being happy. It gave Hermione that by now familiar mixture of warmth and guilt in her stomach.

The last packet had her a little surprised, not knowing who else would've given something to her at this point. Bella surely wouldn't risk ordering one of the house elves to deliver a present to the Ravenclaw-dorms? Hermione at least didn't do that. An unpleasant feeling started to grow in her stomach when she slowly ripped the plain paper of the item in front of her. It contained a large box of vanilla fudge toffee, together with a letter. It was written in a very elegant handwriting and said the following:

 _‚Dear Miss Granger,_

 _I would like you to visit me in my office this evening after dinner._

 _Regards and Merry Christmas,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

 _p.S.: Don't you find sweets to open many doors for you as well?_

Puzzled and more than a little surprised she looked alternating at the letter and the sweets in front of her, making sense of the somehow cryptic letter.

Dumbledore wanted to meet her.

 _Why now? Why tell me over a letter?_

Somehow it _did_ make sense. Actually, she should be surprised he hadn't contacted her earlier, she had been in a different timeline for about four months and, safe the occasional talk to Professor McGonagall or her presence in transfiguration class, she hadn't really gotten into contact with her or Dumbledore about the things she did here. She had always just assumed they wouldn't want to disturb the timeline in any way by interacting to much with her or just not knowing how to help her in general. If she thought a little further on that, Hermione realised her own naiveté in this context. It was rather unlikely that Dumbledore hadn't taken some steps regarding her here-being, whatever that would be. Her eyes went wide for a second.

‚ _Oh god, does he know…?'_

What if he wanted to talk about Waterhouse? Or Bella's involvement. Could he actually know _that_ much? Hermione realised she started to overreact so she tried herself to stop. She took a few deep breaths and tried to think it through logically.

 _He may or may not know something at least. It would be stupid to assume he has no clue you - and probably also Bella - are involved in something around the school. He even may or may not know its regarding Waterhouse, but he probably can't know about the process in general…he's not included in the charm at that point, we've progressed to far for him to know everything._

 _If he wanted us to ‚stop' whatever we were doing, he also probably would've told us so right after the last part of it…but then he can conclude that, whatever we're doing next, could best be operated with no students around…hence will start soon. Ugh, this is so frustrating. Should I tell Bella about this? Probably not…_

As on cue, Hermione felt something in her pocket heat up a little, announcing a message from Bella, sent via _protean charm_.

‚ _Would you like to come to our common room after lunch and have tea with my sister and me?'_

The brunette closed her eyes, sighing.

 _Right. This will also happen._

Since her schedule was now free till dinner, she decided to accept the proposal before she could convince herself otherwise while overthinking. She knew this had to be done.

 _It's important to her. So go with it._

‚ _Yes, that would be lovely'_

A few moments later, the answer already arrived.

‚ _Perfect. Just follow us after Lunch, 10 minutes after we went away, I'll wait for you outside in the dungeons.'_

Hermione gulped. It wasn't like she hadn't expected this to happen, but suddenly knowing the close proximity didn't help with her overall anxious mind right now. She had to constantly remind herself of so many things she feared to screw up at some point. Especially not becoming too friendly with Andromeda, the only Black Sister she had a relatively good chance to meet later on in her life. _She won't be able to remember me after a simple talk, if it will only stay at that…_

* * *

Finally, she went down for breakfast, finding the tables in the same manner as the day before, although she realised, the students weren't quite sticking to their tables from the beginning. Hermione made big eyes, looking at Narcissa Malfoy, sitting at the Ravenclaw-table, talking to the two girls one or two years older than her, evidently discussing some of the presents they had gotten this morning.

The Slytherin table was empty, safe for one girl with dark, curly hair. On the first glance Hermione ought it to be Bellatrix, but when the girl turned around, meeting her eyes, it became once more obvious that her younger sister looked a lot like Bella, but still with distinctive differences.

They held their gazes for a few seconds, before the arrival of Bella broke it off, sitting down next to her sister and grabbing a piece of toast.

Hermione spent the rest of the breakfast with somehow forced smalltalk to the people at her table, only glancing up once in a while to see if the girls at the other table were still eating. Then, what felt like an eternity for the brunette, she heard their chairs screech over the floor, announcing their leave from breakfast.

When Hermione took a shaky breath a few minutes later, leaving the hall as well, she couldn't help but feeling like someone was watching her. When she looked over her shoulder, she couldn't find any particular culprit, but she noticed that Professor Sinistra, the teacher for Astronomy, looked a little puzzled, just as if the person next to her, Dumbledore, had started a conversation with herout of nowhere.

Slowly, she walked down the stairs to the dungeons, towards the Slytherin common room. Naturally, she didn't meet any students and only once a ghost was heard in the distance, increasing a somewhat uncomfortable atmosphere, the only other sounds being her footsteps and the occasional hiss of one of the dim candles. It got noticeably colder in these parts of the dungeon now. Or maybe it just were other kinds of shivers that went down Hermione's spine right now. This was the last part of the castle she'd ever imagine to go to. And yet, she did, willingly so.

„There you are!"

She flinched a little when she got around the next corner, and heard the explaim of a rather nervous-looking Bella in the middle of the corridor, who had obviously been pacing for a while now. She hurried over to Hermione, lightly touching her shoulder.

„I wasn't sure if you'd find the place, you've never been here, right?"

Actually, that had been true. Hermione had never gone near the Dungeons she knew housed the Slytherins. There had never been a reason to, the Potions-classroom as well as the kitchen she had both visited were far enough away to not go near the house that repelled her for a myriad of reasons. Also, the only real opportunity to visit the common room that had presented her, or rather, that she herself had created, she had also botched up quite nicely as well. Not really wanting to relive the memory of herself as a strange humanoid cat, she directed her thoughts back to her upcoming task. For the longest time, she would've had no reason to ever go near those unfamiliar quarters of the castle. Until now. In a world were ‚Harry Potter' was a boy that hadn't lived _yet,_ were Voldemort hadn't risen yet and a future death eater had invited her over to a family tea-party. _Nothing out of the ordinary._

Despite the fact that Hermione had never been near the Slytherin common room, she had lived long enough in the castle to have caught where it would be, combined with the stories Harry and Ron had shared of the Slytherin-dorms, she had a pretty fair idea how to go near that.

But of course she couldn't tell this Bella, also she couldn't possibly know the password, so she was pretty thankful Bella rescued her from an awkward waiting in front of her common room.

„No, I haven't, thank you." Hermione smiled nervously. She looked at Bella and when their eyes locked she seemed to somehow mirror her feelings of concern. She felt her heartbeat go up and couldn't even describe exactly why. It somehow felt like something special for both of them. While she was still contemplating who had the bigger reason to be nervous now, she realised it actually shouldn't matter. Foremost, Bella was her _friend._ And she should act like that.

She shortly took hold of Bella's hand on her shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

„Let's go."

* * *

„ _Hoc volo, sic iubeo._ "

They had walked for about 2 minutes into the depths of the dungeon, until Bellatrix suddenly stopped, turning towards a wall that looked like it was made out of simple stone bricks. As soon as she had spoken those words though, the stones of the wall quickly began to topple over and rearrange themselves that, after a few seconds, a narrow passage had been build. They hadn't talked much on their journey towards Bella's common room, but just as the passage had been fully opened it gave Hermione a first idea of a dimly lit, rather large but narrow room. Bella led her through the small entrance way, the complete picture of the room could only be grasped after leaving the small entrance way, accentuating the effect with a sudden, wider line of sight greatly.

The first impression Hermione had, was, that there couldn't be a room that was more fitted to be called the ‚Slytherin common room.' Narrow, with bare stonewalls, a bunch of greenish lamps, together with a huge fireplace tinted the room in a greenish dusky light which gave it an all around quiet but also a little gloomy atmosphere. Accompanied by the large, carved chairs made out of dark wood that were scattered around the room in small groups and the subtle, but noble-looking decor of snake-ornaments and silver application gave the room an almost decadent and husky allurement as well, as if it invited you to whisper about secrets and mysteries.

„Hey Andy, where are you?" Bella's clear voice broke Hermione out of her trance, as she called out to her middle sister.

„There in a second, sorry!" The clear, and surprisingly light voice of Andromeda Black sounded from another passage to their right, where Hermione suspected the dorm rooms. A few seconds later, Andromeda emerged, holding a large tablet full of different kinds of pastries and cookies. She put it down on one fo the small, wooden tables, were already a few cups and a steaming pot of tea were waiting for them. She dusted down her hands together for a few times, stretching her fingers before extending her hand towards Hermione, smiling warmly.

„Hey Jean, it's nice to meet you."

„Likewise, Andromeda." Hermione took the girls hand and shook it lightly, smiling gingerly. Of course they already knew their names, so a bigger introduction would've just felt rather awkward at this point.

„Please, feel free to call me Andy, I always feel like I get scolded when I'm called out like that." She rolled her eyes and grinned. „Uhm, I know we just ate, but I just kind of felt like preparing a little something for us, you know? Don't feel pressured to eat anything, though!" „Looks wonderful Andy, thank you." Hermione said, slowly taking a seat next to Bellatrix while Andy flicked her wand and the pot started to float around and serve tea for the three young witches. After taking a sip of the delicious red tea that smelled of orange and had a note of vanilla in it's taste, Hermione tentatively took one of the small, fluffy cakes of the variety of biscuits and pastries that were stuffed on the large tablet. Hermione didn't feel particularly hungry - she hadn't since this morning, since her stomach had been clenching nervously about their meeting, but since Andy clearly wanted to make her feel welcomed, she wanted to try at least. She took a bite from one of them, her eyes widened.

„It's delicious, Andy!"

Andy smiled widely, her until now unconsciously stiff posture eased up a bit.

„Oh thank god, otherwise it would've been awkward. I am kind of a nervous bakeress, I guess."

Hermione looked at her disbelievingly for a few seconds, before giggling and taking another bite from the cupcake. „That's not the worst coping mechanism, alright."

Andy joined in her giggling. „Well, that's true, I guess."

„But how do you get to bake here, actually?"

„Ooh, I have a small arrangement with the House elves, they allow me to use the kitchen for that." Andy smiled and shrugged, finally taking one of the cupcakes for herself.

„Our parents would probably disown you if they knew about that." Bella, who until now only had followed their conversation silently, butted in for the first time, rolling her eyes good-naturedly at her sister. „I seriously question if you shouldn't have been in Hufflepuff to begin with." Bella exclaimed further, smirking, but was evidently munching on her second serving of Andy's cupcakes. „You might be right…" Andy said, her smile faltering a little. „The sorting hat actually suggested Hufflepuff to me for a moment…but then just said something about ‚the strength of family-bonds' before calling out to 'Slytherin'."

Silence descended upon them for the first time since Hermione had arrived, but evidently Andy had started musing about something. „We actually never really talked about our sorting hat-experiences, right?" Andy furrowed her brows. „How was it with you, Bella? I obviously wasn't in school when you got sorted."

Bella shrugged, finishing her second biscuit and grabbing a third one. „I question if it even so much as touched my head before calling out ‚Slytherin', there really wasn't any discussion necessary." She looked at Jean after that, now with equally furrowed brows as her sister a few moments ago, again accentuating their many facial similarities, even regarding their countenance.

„How did you actually end up in Ravenclaw? Not that I doubt that you belong there, I think that is proven to be true enough, but how was it decided? Did you have to put the sorting hat on as well?" After that question, Andy also looked curious at her and Hermione thought that, with this, she could as well be honest.

„Yes, actually, I had to put it on before I could join a house. It didn't go as quickly, actually, the sorting hat told my that Gryffindor could be a decent choice as well, but he'd much rather put me into Ravenclaw." She shrugged at that nonchalantly, sipping at her tea again. Despite her demeanor, it was still a nagging thought in her mind that the sorting hat had told her about his house-preferences for her. How Ravenclaw felt like the best choice for her. Even when she had been a child and put on the sorting hat for the first time, it hadn't been clear, the hat had debated for a long time - a lot longer than for the most first years actually - if it should be Gryffindor or Ravenclaw for her, and not once she had questioned his decision, since she had put it on again…or rather, the first time now? Depending on the perspective, probably.

„ _Gryffindor_?" Bella asked, lifting an eyebrow. „Hm…well, I really can't see you as anything else than a Ravenclaw. But I guess Gryffindor rather than Hufflepuff…for _that_ you're simply not nice enough."

„Thanks a lot, Bella." Hermione said while playfully slapping the dark haired girls shoulder.

They fell into comfortable smalltalk after that, finishing a sizeable amount of Andy's delicious biscuits in the process. They hadn't even realised how late it had become when suddenly they heard the passage of the common room open. „Is this Cissy?" Bella asked Andy with a confused expression.

Andy quickly glanced towards the large wooden clock that hung near the fireplace. "Can't be, she's still at her medical check up in the hospital wing, since she still has small coughing attacks from her pixie-pneumonia last summer. She has to go there to inhale a concoction Pomfrey brews for her and shouldn't be back for the next hour."

But it wasn't Cissy that came across the passage, but the only other Slytherin student that didn't go home for the holidays. Hermione had never looked at her closely, but hadn't much of a choice since now she only sat a few feet away from the girl that looked at them with a puzzled expression that quickly turned into a sneer when she looked at Hermione.

„Black…and Black." She said, not hostile, but exorbitantly friendly and with a smile that looked as fake as it could be.

„What is… _she_ doing here? She is not a Slytherin." The girl, that had light blonde, wavy hair and red secretary glasses said with an arrogant voice.

„Well, I don't see how this–„ Andy started with a distant, but polite voice but quickly got interrupted by Bella.

„Very good call _bugs_ , stating the obvious again." She drawled, sarcasm dripping from her voice. „Now, if you would kindly crawl back into the hole you came from and stop _bugging_ us, that would be marvelous."

The girl opened and closed her mouth a few times, but actually did as Bella had told her. Not without giving them a few prying glances in the process, though.

As soon as she was out of sight, Andy sighed. „Diplomatic as always, Bella."

Bella just shrugged. „I always hated that Skeeter-bitch, I seriously don't want to talk to her."

„What?!" Hermione said now, eyes wide. For a moment she thought she'd misheard what the other student had said, but it was confirmed with Bella's next sentence. „Well, her name is Rita Skeeter, a sixth year as nosy as it could get. I always feel observed when she's in the same room, so I'd rather have _bugs_ stay away from me." Andy rolled her eyes. „Classy pun, Bella, becomes funnier every time." Bella shrugged again, taking another biscuit.

 _Bloody hell, I've never thought of Skeeter when I did my research about this time. Well, even if I had known I probably wouldn't deemed her my main concern…funny that, right now, in contrast to Bella she seems to be as much of a bitch as she's in the future._

Andy tilted her head, slight worry on her face. „Okay, that was unfortunate. I'm sorry Jean, that she talked to you like that. She _really_ behaves like an idiot all the time and snoops around, it really is just annoying." She looked at a large clock over the chimney again.

„Oh my, it's actually a lot later than I thought." Andy's voice sounded rushed all of the sudden, looking between Bella and Hermione with a guilty face. „Look, I hate to call it quits after that performance of Skeeter, but it's actually not that much longer until Cissy comes back and I kind of need to write a letter, well, uh…"

Andy trailed off and silence settled over the group for a few moments until Bella spoke up again. „It's totally fine for me, I wanted to talk to Jean about something anyway. Would you come with me for a while?" Bella asked and Hermione quickly nodded. „Yeah, sure." "Actually, just let me get something from my room, I'll be with you in a second again." Bella said and quickly darted in the direction of the dorm rooms. Which left Hermione and Andy to be in only each others company for the first time So Hermione turned fully to Andromeda, who still looked a little guilty. „Andy…thank you so much for your hospitality, I really enjoyed this afternoon." Andy's face lit up after that. „Oh thank god, that's good to hear. I have to admit, I was a little scared. Uhm not of you, it's just…the situation…-„

„No need to explain, it was the same for me." Hermione shrugged, smiling.

„Well, maybe we can meet for a cup of tea again?"

„Yeah, definitely. Have a good evening, Andy. And thank you, again."

Suddenly, Andy engulfed her in a bear hug, quickly and quietly whispering in her ear. ‚She hasn't looked so at ease in years. So _thank you,_ it was a real pleasure to meet you today."

„If you could untangle yourselves, we could go now." They suddenly heard Bella's impatient voice a few meters away from them, looking a little confused at the scene that was presented to her.

Andy loosened her grip on Hermione and winked at the other two witches before turning around and disappearing into the depths of her dorm room.

* * *

They left the Slytherin common room, the dungeons and the castle behind them, almost naturally going towards the grounds ,as if it had become their special area around the castle. They hadn't talked much since they had said goodbye to Andy, but Hermione knew what Bella would want to talk about. There was one thing they necessarily needed to be discussed at this point.

„Well…tomorrow it is, right?"

„Yes…" Hermione nodded slowly. „I would recommend meeting in front of the Hufflepuff-common room as early in the morning as possible, so we have as much time as we need."

„Couldn't we just go tonight?" Bella asked, brows furrowed, but shook her head before Hermione could even answer. „We've to be careful with the elves, they tend to clean the common rooms around 2 or 3 o' clock in the morning, we wouldn't want to stumble upon one of them while searching for something that clearly doesn't belong to us."

Hermione nodded again. „Since it's the same time for the elves within Ravenclaw, it's more or less safe to assume it works the same way for the other houses as well. But since it's the holidays and no Hufflepuff is actually there, they don't have much more to do than checking the chimney - if it's even working right now - as well as a little dusting. We should be safe to meet at 4 o clock in front of the common room. Any objections?"

„None, sounds good to me. And you're sure you know how to get in?" Bella checked again.

Hermione rolled her eyes. „Yes, 100%, would you finally trust me with that. It's actually quite offensive how you still think I…and you're just messing with me now, right?"

Bella just grinned affirmative. „Of course, you just get so easily offended if I question your competence. Let me have a little fun here."

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled back a little. „Talking about fun…it was really nice. Meeting your sister, I mean."

Bella's grin vanished slowly and was replaced by a thoughtful expression. „Yes…I think so, too."

„She's…really nice. And a very sweet girl."

„Yeah, I know that…she's my sister after all."

„That's why I'm so surprised by that."

Bella lightly punched Hermione's shoulder. „Git!"

Hermione smiled back while still walking around the estates, they had taken quite the walk around and it was quite in the afternoon already.

„But seriously, though. She's a good and an honest girl. It was a pleasure meeting her."

„Ugh, I was really nervous, you know?" Bella suddenly said, ruffling her hair. „I imagined a million different ways how this could've gone wrong."

„Me too. And Andy probably as well. But this worked out really smooth, I guess. It's probably good we didn't talk about major problems directly but started with getting to know each other a little." Hermione mused. _This probably wasn't the last time we talked. And she really_ is _nice…not surprising, thinking about how her daughter behaves. I really have to be careful, it is easy to let my guard down around her…_

„Still, I think I need to clear my head now…" Bella sighed, interrupting Hermione's musing, shielding her sight against the almost dropping sunlight. Her eyes suddenly narrowed, only to widen again, accompanied by a wide grin.

„Hey Jean…may I make a suggestion?"

„I'm not sure I like your tone right now…what is it?"

„How long has it been since you've been flying?"

Now Hermione's eyes followed Bella's line of sight, which directed towards the quidditch pitch.

„ _What?!_ "

Bella shrugged, the smile not vanishing from her face. „You caught that. Why don't we get some air…well, a little more… _up_ than right now, at least." Hermione's eyes widened in horror, she vigorously shook her head. „Seriously, that's not a good idea. I'm a horrible flier, have always been, I'd always rather stay on the ground if I can choose. Not even once flying had been fun for me, it's only ever been really horrible, so I'd really, _really_ prefer to-"

Bella had listened quietly for the most time of Hermione's rant, only contorting her face in a disbelieving way. After a while she placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder, accompanied by a calm „Jean" which made Hermione stop in her frantic talking.

„Let me try once, okay? Let me try to show you for once that flying can be more than scary and a dizzy feeling, alright? If it doesn't sit well with you, I'll stop asking. Just give me one chance." Hermione saw the pure honesty in Bella's gaze as she proposed this wish to her. She gulped. She really wanted to resist but it was particularly difficult to say ‚no' to Bella if she made that face. It was the same kind of face she did when she first told Hermione about her doubts about the pureblood-society.

„Alright."

The warm smile Bella gave her told Hermione she made the right decision, despite the gut-wretching feeling that began to form in her stomach wanted to make her believe. As if sensing her reluctance - or just seeing it because Hermione was pretty sure she became pale pretty suddenly– took her by her hand and mildly dragged her towards the quidditch pitch.

* * *

Her heartbeat accelerated the nearer they got to the pitch, her breathing increased and she felt her hands get sweaty. In the short time that Bella needed to go towards the cabins to get their brooms, she almost convinced herself that this was yet the most stupid decision she made this year. She had flown before, but none of the situations had been pleasurable. Wether is was concerning school sports in her first year on a broom, flying on a hippogryph in their third year or on thestrals in their fifth, none of the situations had been particularly nice for Hermione. Given, the broom was by far the least scary situation with a thestral being the worst, since she hadn't been able to see the creature the time she flew with them, giving her the feeling of floating alone mid-air. On the other hand, sitting on a broom, only her own skill could save her from any severe injuries that originated from flying. The distress had caught up so much with her, that she only realised that Bella had returned when the girl was standing right next to her again.

„Only one broom?" Hermione questioned, confused.

„Well, obviously." Bella said, caressing the lean and dark material of her strangely elegant broom. „I said that I wanted to _show_ you that flying can be much more than you think. Why the hell would I then continue leaving you alone with that? So now come on, get on it, already."

Slowly and hesitantly, Hermione sat down on the broom, holding the broomstick between her hands as tightly as possible. A few seconds later, Bella joined her, sitting down directly behind her. She grabbed the broom behind Hermione's hands, securing her on the broom in an embrace in the process.

„Comfy?"

„As good as it can get, I think."

„Good." Bella said, and, without further warming, firmly pushing with her feet against the grass beneath them.

It felt horrible.

They rushed upwards quickly, 20, 30 feet quickly passed between them and the secure ground that Hermione already started missing. She almost immediately felt dizzy, her stomach clenching almost as much as her grip around the broomstick.

„Relax." She felt Bella's arms around her tighten, while she, slowly, maneuvered them around the quidditch pitch in a large circle. „I got you."

Bella continued to circle around the pitch, sometimes varying in her speed, but never really too fast, not trying any strange stunts or movements, so it indeed felt a lot safer than her last ride on a hippogryph. Slowly, her body calmed down, as well as her mind, only a slight dizzyness, originating from the unfamiliar situation, stayed. But it was nowhere near as uncomfortable as the other flying-experiences she had until now. Bella seemed to sense that Hermione had gotten a little more relaxed, so she nudged her with her shoulder.

„Hey, look over there." After a slight turn, Hermione saw what Bellatrix meant. The sun had, since it was the end of the year, started to set early, so they were confronted with a beautiful, dark orange sunset, as they, now very slowly, hovered above the quidditch pitch.

„Oh my God…this really is marvelous…" Hermione said in awe, eyes wide at this picture of beauty in front of her.

„Bella chuckled. „I _told_ you you'd like it." Hermione snorted. „Well, it's not like I would want to play quidditch now, it's kind of a different situation." She felt Bella shaking her head behind her. „I never said I wanted you to like Quidditch – I wanted you to enjoy _flying_. There is so much more to flying than any adrenaline rush you may get from Quidditch…a lot of sports do that somehow. But the feeling of freedom, of being yourself while nobody is really able to disturb you…only flying can do that, in my opinion…well, and maybe playing piano, I guess. But this is something I could do openly, with my father approving and not feeling scared to loose it any second." This left Hermione speechless for a moment.

 _Again she shared something so personal and important with me. Not only the thought, even the experience itself. I wish so much I could be more honest with you, I really do._

She banished those darker thoughts from her mind, not wanting to blemish the moment. Cause right now, she really started to understand what Bella said. The uncomfortable feeling in her stomach had almost vanished, only leaving her with a tingling sensation when she started to enjoy the experience of flying for the first time in her life, feeling somehow completely safe, even if she was so far out of her comfort zone.

They stayed a little longer in the air, only when the sunlight had almost completely vanished, Bella slowly directed the broom towards the ground again, giving Hermione a surprising feeling of disappointment as soon as they had landed.

They went to the cabins again to store Bella's broom away again and when Hermione admitted that she indeed _had_ enjoyed the experience, the Slytherins grin became unbelievably smug, but not without genuine joy behind it, since her plan worked out so nicely. Since Hermione could read Bella's actual feelings behind that grin, and smug ‚ _Told you so, Gabor_.' she just found it cute.

 _Wait, what?_

„Jean?"

„Uh, yeah?"

„Um, before we go back, I have something for you, I actually almost forgot…" While saying that, she took a small item out of her pocket, quickly directed her wand at it and said: „ _Engorgio…._ merry winter solstice to you…or rather ‚ _merry Christmas_ ' for you, right?" While slowly handing the now rather large, rectangular object over to the brunette, that was wrapped into elegant, emerald green paper. Slowly, Hermione peeled it off the rather heavy item.

It was a book, as it almost could've been suspected. But nothing about this book could be describe as ordinary. It was in good condition, but obviously not new. It was a beautiful, leather-bound version of one of her favorite books: ‚ _Hogwarts: A history_ ' by Bathilda Bagshot. When she eyed it more closely, she realised it was probably a first edition. Hermione couldn't remember she ever talked about her love for this book with Bella, but the longer she looked at the old, beautiful tome, the more she realised what this gift meant.

A gift from a pureblooded, a Slytherin to a muggleborn, that emits magical secrets, that still a lot of Slytherins think shouldn't be shared with the likes of her. This was more than a gift, it was a statement. It was truly special and exceptionally thoughtful of the raven haired girl.

She had been silent for longer than she thought, since Bella started to squirm a little in front of her.

„You probably already have read it, but the newer versions, as I noticed, are somewhat shortened, since Bagshot wrote some parts rather controversially, especially the chapter about some strange _Cursed Vaults_ that allegedly exist somewhere in the castle, so they censored it, that none of the students would search for them, I thought maybe you'd appreciate the discrepancy in-„

„Bella." Hermione gently interrupted Bella's small rant, smiling the warmest smile she could offer towards the witch. „It's _absolutely_ lovely…thank you so much."

A light blush crept on Bella's cheeks. „My pleasure, seriously. Look, it's gotten rather late, how about we go back to…the…castle?" She stopped talking when she noticed Hermione's raised eyebrows.

„Will you at least let me give you _your_ present, now? Even if it now totally fails to impress after yours."

„Uhm, okay…yes, sure."

Hermione grinned, magically shrinking the book Bellatrix gave her, collecting another rectangular package from her infinite bag, smaller than the one she received from Bella, wrapped in silver wrapping with golden applications. „Marry ‚winter solstice' to you as well, Bella."

Bella took the offered item, slowly unwrapping it. To Hermione's joy, Bella's eyes lit up when she saw what the present contained.

‚ _The Diary of nobody_ '?

„Yes, it is actually somewhat of a silly story…not really describing huge historical events but rather the day-to-day lives of muggles at the end of the last century. The technology has advanced a lot since then, so it wouldn't be the most accurate depiction of today's life, but I thought maybe you'd appreciate somewhat of an literary insight of a normal life without magic."  
Hermione knew that a similar concept at least existed in the magical world, since she knew Ron was collecting comics called ‚ _The adventures of Martin Miggs, the mad muggle_.' But she couldn't imagine Bella's parents to let her read those, much less Bella enjoying those kind of abstract and silly depictions. And, by Bella's expression, she seemed to have guessed right.

„I hope you don't mind it's an old copy, I've owned it for years."

Much as herself earlier, Bella seemed to be at a loss of words, comprehending the meaning behind this present.

Again it was fascinating how distinctly different and yet how indefinitely similar their gifts for each other were. Step by step, letting the other in on their world, sharing their secrets and lives with each other.

„Jean…I… _thank you_." The young with sounded genuine from the bottom of her heart, yet her expression seemed a little unsure.

„My pleasure, re-." Hermione started, but couldn't finish her sentence, since suddenly, Bella closed the distance between them, closing her arms around her, engulfing her in a big hug. Taken aback for a second, it took Hermione a few moments to reciprocate the gesture, putting her arms around the shoulders of the raven haired girl, putting her head in the mane of raven curls, much as she did a few days earlier, when they accidentally had spent the night in the quire room. It gave her a strange feeling, breathing the surprisingly sweet fragrance that emerged from the girls hair, somewhere between strawberry and honey, strangely intensifying the feeling in Hermione's stomach that had started showing when they first went up in the air, but hadn't really stopped even when they had landed. They stayed like that for a few more seconds, until both of them, as on a mutual senses, silent command, slowly let go at the same time. „We…probably should go now, right?" Bella asked tentatively, somehow not meeting Hermione's eyes.

Surprisingly eager not to directly look the other girl in the eyes as well, Hermione agreed to that suggestion.

„Yes, probably a good idea. Dumbledore wanted to see me later, so, better not be late to dinner."

That sentence somehow broke the strange spell between them, letting Bella look puzzled into Hermione's direction. „Dumbledore, seriously? Why?" „I don't know." Hermione said, mostly being honest. She had a guess, but couldn't be sure about it, either. „I think it's probably because I'm new here…you know? Maybe asking how I've been managing until now?"

„Yeah probably…" Bella mused, while they slowly walked back to the castle. They planned on splitting up shortly before entering the Castle to not make it completely obvious they had been together, even if hardly anyone was present right now.

„You don't think it has to do, with, _that_ , you know?"

„I thought of that as well, but I somehow doubt it. I mean, how would he know?" Hermione said, not needing to ask what Bella was referring to.

„I wouldn't be so sure, it's Dumbledore we're talking about. Sometimes I think he knows almost everything around here…"

„Well…I still doubt it, but I'll just let you know when I finished talking to him, okay? And to make sure everything is still working for tomorrow…alright?" „Alright, perfect." Bella said, nodding. „How about you go first to the great hall, I think it's early enough that I can catch Andy and go together with her." „Alright, see you later, then." „Yeah, see you later. Good luck with the old man, don't forget to tell me." She said, smiling warmly at Hermione again, before turning around and walking quickly towards the dungeons and her common room.

 _Good thing you planned on_ not _telling her a few hours ago, Hermione. But…who actually is my ally right now, who isn't? The lines never felt so blurred in my actual timeline. It just somehow felt impossible to hide this from Bella right now. We're both equally part of what lies in front of us. It would be the biggest mistake to increase our distance with yet another secret right now. Especially if she deserves to know that as much as I do._

While Hermione slowly walked towards the great hall, she simultaneously tried to ignore and to wrap her had around the fact that the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach she had since sitting on that broom, as if she was falling, just wouldn't go away anymore.

* * *

Well, well, well…would that be…progress? :)

Soo, some notions on this chapter:

I know that all the wizard-families also celebrate Christmas, but this always was a little strange for me, since ‚Religion' in general looked sometimes more of a muggle-thing to me in the books - with wizards using ‚Merlin' instead of ‚god' and such, so I just decided that winter solstice looks more of a proper celebration-occasion for purebloods than Christmas - bear with me, here.

(And yes, I couldn't resist with that game-reference, but don't worry, I won't pursue anything of that, just think of it as an easter egg there :D)

And overall ‚thank you' again for all the people that just wanted to tell me to continue the story through reviews here. Again: I will do that, I just need some time… okay, a lot of time. See you for Chapter 20!

crazytroublemaker: Okok, sorry, didn't want to offend you :D I hope this chapter suffices as an apology :)

Mashiro09: Wow, thank you so much, really! It's good to hear that I'm a little improving with the story :) BloodCraver6: My, I think I started to blush :) You really stroked my ego there, friend :D Hope this chapter is to your liking as well!

MichalaJ: Yes, we can probably at least all agree that that voice means trouble…which kind, I obviously won't tell :) (for now!)

Meda: Wow, interesting to know my story gets recommended on tumblr :D Kind of makes me happy I guess. And thanks for complimenting my english, I seriously feel inadequate most of the time, I probably still have dozens of mistakes in the story . Anyway, thank you for the compliment :)


	20. Chapter 20

Yes, I am officially back. I submitted my thesis so I got a little more time for writing, the updates will come more frequently now. I am sorry to everyone who waited for so long, but updating sooner simply wasn't possible due to university-related stuff. But now I'm back, whoop whoop. Right now, the story is almost at 500 followers and over 200 reviews. That's really awesome, seriously, seeing that you guys appreciate what I'm doing :) Well, off we go to the next chapter! (I've made you wait long enough, seriously. I appreciate whoever still puts up with me at this point!)

Chapter 20 – The badgers lair

"Everything I do, I do it big

Yeah, uh huh, screaming that's nothing

What I pulled off the lot, that's stunting

Repping my town when you see me you know everything

Black and yellow

Black and yellow

Black and yellow

Black and yellow"

Wiz Khalifa, ‚Black and Yellow'

* * *

With no small amount of tension Hermione walked towards the headmasters office, her steps resounding numbly in the empty, dim-lit corridors. Mind racing, going through every possible thing Dumbledore could potentially want to talk about.

 _It's highly unlikely that he knows what Bella and I are working on right now…I'd actually say it's impossible, but it'd be naive to assume he wouldn't have some sort of idea or assumption about it, at least._

She was well aware that the old wizard had multiple ways of gathering information about the school and it's ongoings that none of the students – and probably neither the teachers – would know about.

 _So let's assume he has_ some _information, then. It's only questionable, how much he knows… and what about._ She continued her musing, even if it was going around in circles by now. She knew it wasn't necessarily bad that he had information on her, more than once she felt guilty about leaving him and McGonagall in the dark about what she did. What cleared her conscience at least a little was the fact, that by now, Bella and she went way too far into the mystery around Agnes Waterhouse and the ‚Cataract', that it probably wasn't even possible anymore to let any other person in on their secret without breaking some sort of magical vow or bond.

There were, on the other hand, far more obvious parts of her current life that he probably knew about. Maybe it was possible to hide an acquaintanceship or even a friendship with Bellatrix Black from the general student-body, but assuredly not from Dumbledore. This had to be, as she had to remind herself, not necessarily a bad thing, either.

 _As long as he isn't going to tell you to stop._

But she didn't even want to think this possibility through.

She had to admit that she didn't particularly want to talk about her relationship with Bellatrix. Even if the headmaster couldn't know what would happen to the Slytherin in the future, he had to know about heir upbringing, her peergroup, family-background etc. Her ‚problematic situation', to say the least. Hermione knew it was a possibility that he would confront her about that. She just didn't know how she would react. The only certainty in her mind was, that she couldn't abandon Bella now.

 _We've come to far for this. In more than one way._

It seemed like her thoughts had effectively shortened her way towards the headmasters office, she felt at least a little surprised as she nearly suddenly found herself in front of the large gargoyle, made out of dark, rough stone. As soon as she stood in front of it, it slowly moved it's head towards her, creating a dull, yet raspy sound as it directed it's empty stare towards her.

 _Had it always looked so intimidating?_

She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

„Vanilla fudge toffee."

As expected, the hint in her Christmas present was the current password to the office. The Gargoyle bowed slightly and started to move, again accompanied by that muffled, raspy sound. After a few seconds, it had opened a passage for her towards the moving staircase that would let her enter the by now almost familiar office of the headmaster.

She carefully knocked at the large, wooden door and only had to wait a few seconds before Dumbledore's voice allowed her to enter.

"Come in, please."

She didn't see Dumbledore immediately as she stepped into the large office, only when she looked around she found him near one of the many large windows.

Without looking in her direction when she entered, he said. „Miss Granger. Please, sit down."

She followed his request, slowly sitting down, nervously tapping at her knees. He didn't join her, though, but continued to watch the decreasing daylight that had almost turned into star-illuminated darkness.

For a few moments, he kept the silence between them, to a point that had Hermione almost nervous enough to break it. She just started to draw breath when the older wizard suddenly started talking.

„Did you ever have the feeling you acquired information you would rather have not, Miss Granger?"

Why did Hermione even bother to think over possible conversation-topics with the Professor, when, in the end, it certainly never went the way she expected?

She tried to seriously think about the question. _‚Information I'd rather not have'? Certainly he's not talking about something something trivial or embarrassing, is he? He wouldn't ask me if I would rather not know how Slughorn looks only in his boxers, right?_ She dismissed this revolting trail of thoughts and tried to think about a situation where she'd rather have been clueless about something. But in the end, if a certain knowledge didn't appeal or interest her, couldn't she just simply ignore it? In the end, she decided, she'd rather decide that herself, rather than have that decision taken away from her.

„I didn't…I don't think so, at least?" Even if she was certain of her answer, it came out more as a question than a statement.

This didn't get past the old wizard, who chuckled a little and finally turned around to face her. He smiled kindly as he started to talk again. „Well, this probably is a strange question, coming from a teacher. But I am asking you this, _not_ in my position as a headmaster, but from one wizard to another witch. I had the feeling a couple of times in my life, to be honest. Not _too_ often, but it happens, from time to time."

„…Professor?" Hermione absolutely didn't know where Dumbledore was headed with this all of this, which unnerved her even more. With a thoughtful expression he continued, but turned around to look out of the window again.

„You see a lot up here, Miss Granger. Beautiful things, like the sunset. Sometimes, students sneaking out of school and back in again. More often than I'd like to admit, actually." She closed her eyes. So it was about her leaving the school grounds? Yes, of course he knew that.

But if he knew that _she_ had broken the rules, he certainly also knew that…

„-Also, sometimes you see mostly astonishing things where you wouldn't expect them. Around the lake, near the forest…at the currently mostly unused Quidditch-pitch, for example."

Hermione's eyes shot open in shock, meeting Dumbledores piercing gaze.

 _He had seen us._

„Miss Granger, I probably can't fully understand the situation you're in right now, but-…

 _You musn't associate with Bellatrix Black._

 _You're endangering the timeline._

 _You betray your future friends_.

 _Traitor!_

„-I am sorry. I truly wish I could help you better."

Still wide-eyed, Hermione stared at him.

He sighed and walked over towards her, sitting down at the other side of his desk, giving her a smile that appeared friendly and sad at the same time. „You see, right now, I have to consider you in two different ways. I have to consider the situation of Hermione Granger, the brave witch that has some sort of… mission or maybe _purpose_ in this time, where she only belongs until this purpose is fulfilled. It is possibly dangerous, and I am one of the few people who have the privilege to know about your situation. Also, I have to think about you as Jean Gabor, the student at my school that is my duty to protect. And right now, I have the feeling I, neither to Ms Granger, the adult witch, nor Ms. Gabor, the student, fulfill the responsibility I've been given. I wanted to apologise for that."

He paused for a moment to consider Hermione's reaction. Again, it was an unexpected turn for the young witch. Luckily, Dumbledore didn't expect her to react with an verbal answer, he simply gave her a few moments to process what was told to her.

„You understand, in my position, it's difficult to _not_ know at least some part of your situation in this castle, with which my, I have to admit, _general curiosity_ isn't really helping. That's why I said there are sometimes things we actually didn't want to know. I won't interfere in your business here, Miss Granger. But I can't help but to worry about you."

 _So he isn't prohibiting anything._ Was the first thought that shot through Hermione's mind. Once she'd calmed down from this initial fear, she tried to formulate her sight on what Dumbledore had tried to apoligise to her.

„I certainly don't feel like…you're letting me down, Professor." Hermione finally managed to say. „On the opposite, I'm sorry that I can't talk much about what is going on right now. I can only promise that I… that _we_ keep the risk to a minimum." _He clearly knows you're not working alone anymore, no need to try hide it now."_

Dumbledore nodded, taking up on the very same point Hermione had thinking about right now. So since she basically gave him permission through her last statement, she didn't flinch as Dumbledore started to talk directly over what they knew were occupying both of their minds.

„Miss Black is one of our most gifted students, to be sure." He said, watching her closely over his half-moon-glasses. „Top of the school and an ace sports. Haunted by difficulties beyond most people's imagination…"

Hermione held his stare at this point with an unwavering expression.

"…Playing a role so excellent, you would almost believe it was real, wouldn't you?"

 _What?_

Her expression must have wavered, since Dumbledore chuckled a little again. „There is more to Miss Black than the average eye would assume, that much I know. And even more, that she is not who she wants everyone to believe she is, that we both know even better. And don't worry, I don't intend on interfering in her our your personal affairs. But she, and her family are dealing with forces that are more vile and evil than they could comprehend right now. But I guess you already know that, Miss Granger?"

He seemed to expect an answer right now, so Hermione simply nodded. „I do."

„But maybe Miss _Gabor_ needs to remind herself of that?"

Hermione didn't miss the different use of names right now. _So now he was talking to me as a student? This is a warning, isn't it?_

„I don't think so. I am fully aware of my situation and try to handle it with the best of my abilities." She said, voice steadfast and determined.

For a moment, he continued to look hat her intently, before he leaned back on his chair and nodded, a small smile creeping on his face.

„I didn't doubt that. In the end, you're here because of a reason that will make itself clear at some point. Just let me know if there is anything I can help you with."

„I, will, thank you."

„Then you're free to go if there are no further questions. I wish you a pleasant evening."

Hermione nodded and stood up. „Thank you Professor, likewise."

She started to turn around to leave, but quickly stopped in her tracks again. She couldn't stop herself from asking one last question.

„Professor?"

„Yes?"

„Do you have any advice for me?" She didn't really know what she was asking about right now herself, it was solely on impulse. To her surprise, Dumbledore started talking in a distinctly different, light tone immediately.

„Did you know a lot of modern poetry was inspired by muggles having encounters with magical creatures? Goethes ‚Erlkönig' for example was inspired by a Lethifold. Lethifolds can only be banished by the patronus-charm, similar to Dementors. Even if they're almost extinct, so it's highly unlikely you'd encounter one… did you know that one of the mightiest patroni was created by Symposia Rawle in form of a Ladybird, even though it's small size? Ladybirds are amazing creatures in general, a natural pest control since centuries…"

He continued to shower Hermione with seemingly loosely connected, random facts for a few minutes and only stopped in his tracks when he looked at Hermione's puzzled face.

„Well, since you asked for advice and I can't seem to find anything I assume appropriate, I just went with the first interesting things that came to mind. As far as we know, everything we do or say could be part of what will lead you to the reason why you are here. So I might as well tell you something I find interesting." Hermione still felt a little confused, but in the end couldn't actually argue with Dumbledores logic.

„You're right. Thank you, Professor… just one last thing. Who were you talking to right now? Hermione Granger or Jean Gabor… or both of us?"

Dumbledore smiled. „That is probably something you know better than I do, isn't it?"

* * *

‚ _Left Dumbledores office right now. No problems with tonight. Tell you the rest later.'_

Hermione sighed when she sat down on her bed in the Ravenclaw-dorm and squeezed that information on her enchanted coin for Bella to read. The Slytherin was probably burning with curiosity right now, but the amount of information you could transfer with the protean-charm surely had its limits.

As expected, only a few minutes later, the coin heated up as Bella had formulated her answer.

‚ _You better. See you later at the badgers lair, then.'_

Hermione laid down on her bed, closing her eyes. She had prepared everything in advance and had also looked it over often enough that everything she could do right now was wait, or, what would be the better choice, sleep. After her talk with Dumbledore, though, she couldn't think about that right now. A lot of thoughts circling in her head, as it was to be expected.

The more she thought about their conversation, the more she had started to read new meanings into it.

It somehow irked her that it was never truly clear what the old wizards goal was, a single sentence with so much underlying room for interpretation it overshadowed the original meaning of it. _How did Harry not get insane with this, seriously?_

But in the end, as much as she thought about Dumbledores words, she came to the conclusion that it could've been worse overall. He didn't prohibit her anything in the end, was even more encouraging her. _Maybe he thinks he would be messing with the timeline if he interfered too much? But is it, to a certain point, even possible to alter the course of time if the future Dumbledore had already met me in my original timeline is_ bound _to happen? I wish there were reference-cases to this situation, ugh…_

She slightly shook her head. Whenever she started to think too deeply about her situation, is all truly felt like some sort time-paradox to her at some point, so she had decided to stop herself from it. Even if it went against her nature to tell herself something like that, it wouldn't do her any good to overthink the situation she was in over and over _again_ , she'd done so on countless occasion only to arrive at the same conclusion: It would somehow play itself out, she just didn't know how. She remembered the note she'd written to herself in the future (past?) and had to think about the hasty scribbling that hinted she had been in a major rush to write it. _What was the situation I had been in, was I…will I be in danger?_ She now shook her head angrily.

 _Stop it, for gods sake. You've more important thinks to worry about._

Since it was still early in the evening, she decided again to take a weak sleeping draught, that would only allow her to sleep more or less peacefully for a few hours, but wouldn't keep her from waking up on time. While she prepared the right amount of potion from her bag, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to another, specific point that Dumbledore had addressed earlier.

 _How much of it will I tell Bella? He has more insight on her than she thought. She probably wouldn't be happy that Dumbledore knew she wasn't who she wanted people to think she was_ _. But on the other hand…isn't it a good thing he knows she isn't an evil person…what will he think about her in the future when he sees what she'll become?_

She sighed, not wanting to go through this even more right now, especially not thinking about Bella's determined future. A good rest was important for this night, first and foremost. Luckily, she already felt her eyes becoming heavy thanks to the potion, so she quickly put her bag next to her bed, changed into her pyjamas with a flick of her wand and closed her eyes.

In a few hours, their quest would continue. _Finally._

* * *

When she woke up due to the shrill sound of the _alarming_ -charm she had casted before going to sleep, she didn't feel like she had been sleeping at all. The anticipation she had seemingly built up had become so strong she didn't feel tired in the slightest, being wide awake in an instant.

She went out of bed, changing into comfortable clothes and grabbing her bag before leaving the room. Relieved, she noticed that the elves had already finished cleaning up her common room and left again, so she could start her nightly adventure undisturbed.

When she sneaked through the empty corridors she thought to herself that it were situations like this when she regretted not taking Harry up on his offer to take items like the marauders map with her. It would've made her walk through the castle a lot easier, not having to fear to bump into a teacher, a ghost or Pringle at any second. On the other hand, it had just been to risky. It was for the same reason she refused to take the cloak with her or anything else that had a significant importance to the cause, for the matter. If something happened to her – not that she had anticipated this, but just to take it in as an option – there would've been no realistic possibility for harry to retrieve his items back when she got into a problem in this timeline. Before she moved around the last corner she put the map back into her bag - Also, as for the map, at least, if someone found it, it would be rather difficult to explain why she owned an object that showed every moving living - or non living - being in a school she reportedly had never attended before.

As helpful as it could've been, the risk was simply to high.

The irony of this concept didn't go past Hermione. It probably wasn't a healthy way of thinking those items were ‚more important than her bloody life' as Ron had phrased at that time when they had this discussion. But it wasn't like that. She didn't expect something to go wrong, but she obviously couldn't be sure either. This simply seemed to be the most reasonable solution at that point.

When she entered the dungeon, she shook this trail of thoughts from her mind. Until now, it had worked just fine without any further magical gadgets, at least. Her vague concern that maybe not her, but Bella had been busted at some point vanished as well when she got around the last corner towards the corridor she had visited numerous times to enter the kitchen. She spotted a nervously pacing figure in front of the large accumulation of barrels that contained the entrance to the Hufflepuff dorm, looking at a small item in her hand.

 _Obviously, she didn't even had half the way to get here that I had. How convenient._

„Bella." Hermione said calmly, once she was near enough.

The girl that faced away from her at the moment actually jumped a little. Her arms, until now crossed in front of her chest, quickly moved towards her wand until she took a defensive stand in under one second. A little surprised, Hermione held her hands up, showing that she wasn't a threat.

„Merlin, Jean." She hissed while she came closer and still looked around them nervously, putting her wand away again, together with the charmed coin she had been looking at. „Don't scare me like hat, I thought you'd let me know in advance when you would arrive. Every second I thought a teacher would bust me here and the whole thing with it. But I didn't even saw a _ghost_. That's somehow even more suspicious."

„Me neither." Hermione said in the same hushed voice, even if she as well hadn't seen a soul this night and the quiet talking probably was redundant. „Maybe the don't look around as much since almost no students are here?"

Bella shook her head.

„I heard it from Andy, Prefect and everything, they still have to patrol through the school even if none of the students would be here. Maybe not as frequent, but still on a regular basis. It really _is_ strange..." She squinted her eyes. „Almost like…" Both girls looked at each other, Hermione saw her slight concern mirrored in Bella's eyes.

„…like it was set up?"

Bella looked even more troubled now.

„…How did your talk with Dumbledore go?"

„It's… a good question. He definitely knows _something._ " She looked at Bella, a little more determined." But I decidedly _didn't_ tell him what we're about to do tonight."

Bella sighed. „Sorry. You're right. It's not that I doubt you, it just feels so suspiciously _convenient_ , doesn't it?"

„Yes, I know. How about we go inside and I tell you the rest? We can't be exactly sure it wasn't pure coincidence that we didn't get caught until know. Let's not stress our luck."

„Okay… so, you know how it's done, right? If its a password I hope it didn't change since you looked into it."

„It's not a password, wait a moment." Hermione said when she walked towards the large wall of barrels that hid the Hufflepuff common room. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, remembering what she had observed Talos doing the day she followed him down here. She tapped a few times on one specific barrel in the middle of the second row. She didn't exactly knew what the rhythm it stood for, since she only memorised the motions. Once she finished her tapping-rhythm, the barrel opened with a slight creaking noise and revealed a narrow walk-through. It seemed to slope upwards a little which obstructed a direct view of the room that connected to it.

„You did it, nice." Bella whispered appreciatively, now next to her. „You know, I once saw someone getting hit by a splash of disgustingly smelling liquid. I wonder what he did wrong."

„And you were here at that exact moment, because…?"

„Maybe because I chased that guy towards his dorm room. Could be part of why he messed up at the situation. Maybe."

„Maybe. Let's just go, we don't have infinite time, even if Dumbledore is actually helping us."

And with that, she climbed into the Barrel and entered the only common room she hadn't visited until now.

* * *

Once she had left the shallow ascending passage she was presented with a view she could only describe as ‚cozy'.

Her first impression was that the Hufflepuff room felt warm and welcoming, maybe even more than the Gryffindor common-room. It was only dimly lit, due to the dying fire in the large chimney that every of the common rooms seemed to have. Even though they were underground, large windows accompanied the warm-yellowish walls that magically showed a clear night sky.

The comfortable looking, podgy-appearing armchairs with yellow cushions and honey-coloured wood stood in small groups together, as if inviting them to sit together and have a chat. Almost every flat surface seemed to contain some form of potted plant, that gave it a warm and flowery feeling at the same time. It had an all around natural and earthy touch to it, that was distinctively different from the ethereal feeling of the Ravenclaw-tower or the dark and mysterious impression the Slytherin common room gave. The biggest difference to every other common room though was the large, centrally positioned painting between the large windows that showed a now soundly sleeping portrait of an elderly, friendly looking witch that, despite her sleeping posture, still cradled a small golden cup in her hand. Hermione had read about this in ‚Hogwarts, a history', so she wasn't surprised when she heard Bella mumble:

„So they really have a portrait of the founder in their common room? Bloody hell…I'm just glad they didn't do that in _my_ common room. I once saw a picture of Slytherin, I really wouldn't want that old creep to watch me all the time." She took another superficially scanning gaze around the room. „Well, it's okay I guess, but _way_ to cramped for my taste."

„How will the Hufflepuffs survive?" Hermione questioned with an eye roll . „Let's get to work already."

And now the actual problematic part of their evening would start. Since the only clue they had about this part of their journey so far whas that it had to be _somewhere_ within the Hufflepuff-dorm, they had to search randomly for starters. So while they proceeded to thoroughly examine everything they could reach, Hermione updated Bella on what Dumbledore had talked about to her in his office. At least the parts she actually _could_ tell her about. She had to modify the crucial parts of the story and felt the familiar pang of guilt that always appeared whenever she had to lie to Bella like that. That way, she at least decided to be honest about what Dumbledore seem to know about Bella despite her reputation.

At first, she looked at the brunette opened mouthed in shock and started cursing for a while, much as Hermione had anticipated. Much less did she expect the low giggle the cursing changed to at some point.

„You know…" Bella murmured as she examined one of the potted plants closely. „I somehow always had a feeling that someone was looking out for me when I went to play the piano. I mean, I did it every weak at least once for years now. I always found it suspicious I actually never ran into a teacher or even a _ghost_ at that nights. I got caught on different occasions when I walked through the castle for different reasons… but never when I wanted to play the piano. I subconsciously probably knew someone was on to me there… but that it was the headmaster?" Bella snorted. „I don't know if I should laugh or cry, seriously."

„Um, I don't even know if he knows what you're doing there exactly, if that helps in any way?"

Bella contemplated that thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Maybe he just realised I was more relaxed the next day, so he turned a blind eye?" Then, she grinned at her. „Yeah, you'd probably be the only one to actually set her own timetable to observe for a few weeks, aren't you?"

„Oh, _shut up."_

„Oh, try to deny it, but we both know that's true."

Hermione didn't give her the satisfaction of answering and continued to search quietly, with Bella's snickering as the only background-noise for a while.

They continued there search, only talking to each other when they wanted the other one to check something specific out for the time being, only to abandon the thought a moment later again. This seemed to be more difficult than anticipated and it became more and more frustrating for them. Finally, Hermione broke the silence that had lasted for a good ten minutes this time.

„I once heard that Hufflepuffs seem to be particularly good finders, I think." Hermione said thoughtful, while examining the chimney for a second time. „Maybe that's what this is all about."

„Ugh, why can't this house have any _real_ traits, seriously?" Bella said grumpily, who became more and more annoyed with the fruitless search. „I really don't know _what_ I am supposed to find here, the poem really could've been more helpful, don't you think?"

Hermione stopped in her tracks, thinking about what Bella had said. „Maybe you are right."

„That Hufflepuffs are a bunch of–"

„ _No_ to whatever you wanted to say now. It's just that maybe we've had the wrong approach to this situation. What are the traits of Hufflepuff?"

Bella opened her mouth.

„Its not a rhetorical question, answer seriously."

„Fine." Bella sighed. „Uh..loyalty, inclusiveness, helpfulness?"

„Exactly…" Hermione looked around the room until her gaze fixated on one particular item. „We need help."

She walked a few steps through the room until she stood directly in front of it. The large portrait of one of the founders of the school. It position required for Hermione to tilt her head up up slightly to look her in the still sleeping face.

„Uuuh… Professor Hufflepuff?"

The painting reacted immediately. The large portrait of the elderly, even somehow motherly looking woman opened her eyes and looked down on her with a warm smile.

„It's been a while since someone called me that. Most of my students just call me Helga here." She squinted at Hermione „...But you're none of mine, are you? I haven't seen you here before as well."

Her eyes narrowed even more when she looked over the young witches shoulder. „And that foul-mouthed girl over there obviously isn't as well, is she? Come over here, it's impolite to just stare, dear."

A sheepish looking Bella slowly emerged from the shadows behind Hermione, seemingly shrinking under the suddenly stern gaze of the founder.

„Uhm, yes, sorry to intrude."

„It's alright, dear. Unless you intend to harm the students of House Hufflepuff in any way. I don't think you're here because of some shenanigans, as far as I could tell by how thoroughly you were searching this place. I hope you're not planning something that would hurt my children?" Even if her demeanor remained friendly, both of the girls heard the warning in her tone, so Hermione hurried to explain their situation.

„Uhm…no. We're not. We're searching for something important, though. But we're getting nowhere with our search and we probably need your help. Would you be so kind to answer a question?"

„Ask away, If I can be of service, I'll be glad to do so."

"What do you know about ‚Agnes Waterhouse'?"

Hufflepuff was silent for a moment, then started laughing. Both girls looked from Hufflepuff to each other and to Hufflepuff again, perplexed.

„Oh, this name really comes back every now and then. Is it really that time again? It really has become one of the more long-lasting of the fairytales here. Mostly, students just ask me that over a cup of tea as chitchat, though. They never got the length of actually breaking into a different common room for this nonsense."

„So you believe it's a myth, then?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

„Why wouldn't I?"

Bella suddenly snorted. Hufflepuff immediately looked at the Slytherin sternly again.

„Again being impolite, girl. Arrogance isn't a trait you should seek. One of Salazars, I suppose? He and his peers often thought of themselves irrationally as superior. Is there something you wish to tell, do tell." Bella just stood there, mouth agape. Hermione almost felt pity. _That's probably not how it usually goes for her._ She could almost feel the hurt pride of the girl next to her, clenching her fist. And even though Bella visibly shrunk again after the criticism she received and obviously felt uncomfortable under the stare of the founder, she didn't budge. Hermione quickly put a hand on the other girls shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly. Bella looked at her for a moment, clearly stricken, but nodded slightly. „I am sorry again, Professor. I behaved out of place. But well, we _did_ find something. Why do you think we're here right now? We _know_ it's in here. We've solid evidence of her existence and her magic. We actually have _proof_."

Hufflepuff looked in their faces, contemplating. Her expression didn't change, but something in their faces seemed to let her come to a conclusion.

„Why don't you girls tell me a little more about what you are doing here exactly?"

And they started explaining. Mostly Hermione, since Bella still wasn't really sure how to talk to the elderly woman in the portrait, only now and then adding something that Hermione didn't emphasise enough in her opinion. They still tried to leave it short, though. They didn't have infinite time.

„So." Hermione summarised. „We came to the conclusion that the next part of the task must be accomplished in here. And since you probably at least know Waterhouse, since she _did_ spend some time in Hufflepuff-house, we thought maybe you could help us where we would need to search."

For a while, Hufflepuff was quiet. She contemplated them with an unreadable look on her face.

„Well, I appreciate your honesty. And I can _see_ that you were honest with me. But I can assure you I've never met a girl named Waterhouse. This is all the fruit of overly imaginative minds of students."

„Wait… what?" You say there wasn't a student called Agnes Waterhouse?"

„Absolutely not. She's a sheer product of imagination."

Bellatrix tugged softly at Hermione's sleeve, gesturing her with a small tilt of her head to follow her for a second.

„Uhm…would you excuse us for a moment, Professor?"

„Obviously. It's not like I could say ‚no'. But thank you for your polite consideration, dear."

They walked away from the portrait, that quickly fell into a form of fake-slumber again.

„Jean…" Bellatrix said in a hushed voice, side-eying the ‚sleeping' portrait.

„Yeah, I noticed it, too." Hermione said equally quiet, thinking it over, hearing through Bellas whispering what her own thoughts told her as well.

„That's odd. We _know_ Waterhouse attended this school. We've got actual proof of it, that the legends are true. And since the portrait of Hufflepuff had been there since the founding of the school…"

„Yeah." Hermione nodded. „Somehow, the portraits memory is wrong."

„It's similar to the time in Hathfield Peverel, isn't it? We have to think outside of the box to get to our goal."

„This has to be it. Do we just… say the charm to her?"

„I think we have to. The poem said so, at least." „Luckily we don't have to sound like children this time."

They walked back to the portrait and as soon as Bella cleared her throat, Hufflepuff opened her eyes again. „Are you still on with the silly myth you're searching for?"

Bella opened her mouth to defend them, but again, Hermione put her hand on her shoulder, leaning slightly towards her.

„Do you remember what the poem said how to cast it this time? With _patience._ "

Bella looked at her disbelievingly for a moment. But then sighed, took a deep breath and nodded.

„I am ready."

Both looked back at the portrait of the founder, that now had a rather skeptical look in her face.

„On the count of three?"

„Yes."

„One…" Both started in union.

„Girls, what exactly are you doing?"

„…two…"

„I hope you don't plan something dangerous."

„…three."

" _Ostenta temporis preteritum puritae_." They spoke in union.

The first two seconds nothin happened, they just continued to look Hufflepuff in the eyes, who only returned their gaze with a crooked eyebrow.

She opened her mouth as to give a retort to the lack of … _change_ that failed to happen after their spell.

But no sound came from her mouth when she opened it. Rather, she shortly twitched and her expression became confused. Slowly she put her golden cup to the ground where the girls couldn't see it anymore. Her hand moved somewhat shakily towards her head.

Then, she twitched again, as if something gave her a sudden electrical shock or something similar. Now, her confused face became disbelieving as she slightly touched her forehead with her fingertips.

„What is…"

She couldn't finish her sentence, since she twitched again, now holding…or rather _clawing_ at her head with both hands, eyes firmly closed, producing quiet groans.

„Professor Hufflepuff?!"

„Merlin, Jean…does she have a headache?!"

„I didn't know portraits could get headaches!?"

„Not by some spell, at least. What should we do?!" Bella's voice became panicked now and only reflected how Hermione felt. Did they do something wrong? What had they done to the portrait of the founder?"

Hufflepuff still clawed at her head, her earlier neatly stacked hair now ruffled in a few places, but at least she had stopped groaning. Her breathing was a little heavy right now, but soon she started producing another sound.

She had started to giggle.

„Oh Merlin, we made her insane." Bella whispered almost flatly, clawing into Hermione's shoulder in fear. „There is _now way_ we can get out of this."

„Oh, _stop it_ , seriously. Professor Hufflepuff… are you alright?" Hermione asked calmly, as she carefully tried to read Hufflepuffs reaction, who now only lightly touched her head and still chuckled a little, shaking her head softly.

„This girl, seriously…"

She cleared her throat and looked back at the girls in front of her, smiling kindly at them.

„Yes, dear. Everything is alright and, I can assure you, I've _not_ gone mad, as the more bash of you just assumed." She said, and frowned for a second in Bella's direction, who's cheeks reddened again in response. But then, again, Hufflepuff smiled.

„Well, the cheekier one would still be the girl who's existence I just had denied so vigorously. And also, so very wrongly.

„So…you remember her?" Bella concluded.

„Yes, indeed I do. ‚Remembering' being the correct term, even if it could be considered a little unfair if you're charmed to forget."

Hermione's eyes became big as she connected the dots of this situation in her mind. _Somehow, Waterhouse had altered the portraits memory of her stay at Hufflepuff-dorm or even her existence. Altering the memory of a portrait, the one of the founder nonetheless. This is truly stunning magic._

In the meantime, Hufflepuff had corrected her hairdo again, as well as taken her cup back into her hand.

„I think congratulations are in order." Hufflepuff continued, now fully back in control of herself. „As you've taken on the task Agnes had set for those willing to follow her. As I see you've already come so far. It is astonishing to see, even after such a long time, students to pursue her work."

„So… we're not the first ones to make it this far?" Bella said, with no little amount of disappointment.

„No, you aren't. But it weren't quite a lot, either…I can't tell you about them, though." Hufflepuff said with a smile as she saw Bella opening her mouth again.

„As all of you have to go the path on their own… or, in their own group, in your case. Nonetheless you've obtained the right to follow her for the next step on her path."

With that, Hufflepuff started to move. Not like before, when she had touched her head in sudden agony, but she started to become smaller. At some point, the girls understood that she had started to walk away from them, in the rear-part of the painting that had been hidden from them until now. They now were presented with the full-bodied version of Helga Hufflepuff in a flowing, saffron-coloured dress, who stood in a large, wooden room, not unlike the Hufflepuff common room itself, with soft looking furnishing and a lot of flowers around.

Hufflepuff had walked towards the wall that were now in direct line of sight to them and that by now showed a small door made from dark wood. Hufflepuff gestured towards the particular door.

„Just come along. It's alright."

A moment of shared perplexity between the girls.

„Bella…does she…?"

„Yes, looks like it." The Slytherin said, still unbelieving.

Slowly, both of them approached the picture, rather reluctantly, though.

„Don't be shy, girls, it'll work, I promise. Little Agnes did quite a lot of magic on my picture. Not that I remember that most of the time. Hufflepuff chuckled, her voice sounded strangely distorted, as if she stood at the other end of a room.

„She didn't promise it was _safe_ , did she?" Hermione whispered, warily.

„Oh come on, it's way to late for that." Bella rolled her eyes and – even if slowly – started moving her arm towards the picture. „Phew… okay, here I go." She gulped audibly a last time before she held her breath and almost jumped into the picture.

Hermione didn't wait to see her emerging on the other side but followed right after _(who of us is supposed to be the actual Gryffindor here?)_ , but quickly held her breath as well. In the corner of her mind she remembered the feeling she had the first time she entered platform 9 3/4 at station Kings Cross, where she didn't have any orientation for a few seconds as well. This time felt rather similar, when she moved through to the enchanted picture, having her senses blurring for a second before she felt herself enter a new and foreign space. Luckily she couldn't sense any difference from before her disorientation about herself, but she still instinctively tugged at the robe of Bella's sleeve who stood right next to her. Clutching it between her fingers to reassure herself they had both made it in one piece. Before they could talk to each other again, though, Hufflepuff beckoned them to come closer. If Bella was aware of Hermione's anxiety-move, she didn't mention it, for what the brunette was rather thankful.

„Hurry, girls. We'll see each other when you get back." Hufflepuff said, smiling warmly at them, while she opened the small, slightly creaking door towards a dimly lit room. They couldn't quite make out the features of it from where thy stood.

„I wish you the best of luck."

Both nodded thankfully in her direction before simultaneously trespassing the rooms verge, either not wanting the other going into the unknown first and alone.

The door closed behind them the moment they entered the room. As soon as there eyes had adjusted to the new light conditions, they understood where the door had led them. They were presented with what looked like a regular dorm room.

„Uh… I didn't know what I was expecting…but this certainly wasn't it." Bella stated, looking around the cozy room. It had, as the whole dorm had, a rather low ceiling, where they saw a bunch of beds made out of dark wood with a yellow-brownish patchwork coverlet.

Hermione turned around, to see that the path they had taken here had closed, the door through which they entered had vanished. Instead, something else had replaced it.

„Do you think Hufflepuff tricked us? She seemed a little suspicious, if you ask-„

„Oh, sush." Hermione interrupted the dark haired witch, grabbing her arm for her to turn around so she would direct her attention towards the place of the former door. A simple wooden plate was placed there, rather light in comparison to the rest of of the rooms design. In large, golden letters it read:

‚ _Chant my name.'_

„Tch…a little egocentric, wasn't she?" Bella said dismissively as she looked at the sign. „But at least Hufflepuff was genuine."

„Yeah, you and here sure would've gotten along well." Hermione snorted. „And you're just peeved Hufflepuff didn't like you."

„As if." Bella said, but now suspiciously avoiding her gaze. „So… ready?"

„Ready."

Both became serious for now.

 _This has to be it. What we're here for._

„ _Agnes Waterhouse…Agnes Waterhouse…Agnes Waterhouse…_ " they started murmuring in union.

Soon, they felt the by now not familiar, but at least not unknown shift in their reality, where every form and colour started to whirl around them.

„Agnes."

This time, it wasn't their voice, but a singular, unknown one, that spoke.

* * *

Some side-info: As you know I always put some form of music-quote at the beginning of my chapters. This time it was really hard to choose. Mostly I stumble upon a song that somehow reflects some kind of feeling I want to put in the chapter, but this time, I couldn't come up with a song that worked out for me. So… yeah. It was about Hufflepuff. There you go, ‚black and yellow'.

(I am a Hufflepuff myself, so every time I make fun of this house, it's highly self-ironic, btw.)

Still, the next chapter won't take so long, promise! So, see you soon!

Mashiro09: ‚Excellent' really praises me too much, i think, but thanks anyway :) glad you enjoyed it, even if I took ages to update and answer to your kind reviews. Hope to see another one from you! love, Hoshino

MichalaJ: Haha, absolutely. I always loved the slow-burn-stories more than anything else, so I obviously contribute to this part :D

B-mey: I feel you so much for this ‚rush'-problem, this probably happens in most fandoms, I guess. It's probably easier for most writers, since it requires a lot less time to get there quicker, but I've always liked the build-up much more than anything else…at some point, you just can't increase the romance anymore and then the story becomes dull. I do not intent to be the rest of the story to be a cliché, thank you for your trust in my abilities :) I hope I won't disappoint!

Gayforkashymcgra: Really, you're way too good in making me feel guilty. I hope you like this update as well :)

Samehada92: So glad to hear my pretty egoistical move of making an oc-character important in this story is still appreciated :D I know that's somehow a fanfic-sin, but I still write this story for myself as well and…well. I also like Hailey :D stays and will also stay important, no worries there! fackenthalh: Heyho, thanks for your remark. ‚Pavillon' is as well the german as the french way to pronunciate it, so it really didn't cross my mind that the english version could be different!

Jody: Ooooh, thank you very much! I hope I didn't lose my progress in that amount of time I didn't write till now. But if I did, I start improving right away again!


	21. Chapter 21

Okay, still suck with the updating. But I try, I promise. As always, no fear that I won't finish this (maybe you aren't, I just like to reassure you, I guess!)  
Furthermore, you maybe will notice that my form and grammar have improved a bunch in this chapter. This is thanks to my lovely friend DeoraNemain, who offered to proofread for me. So if you're pleasantly surprised, this would be thanks to them!

So, a lot of people put a bunch of **content-warnings** at the start of their chapters. I've never found this necessary since I never wrote anything too triggering. (Or at least, I don't think I did?) But I assume I should start now, since we reach the slightly darker part of the story now, so maybe I'd say this chapter contains 'mild gore' and 'strong language'. There, I warned you. But now, enjoy! (I'd appreciate a review, as always!)

* * *

Chapter 21 – Dancing with the Devil

"Everybody wants to be a cat  
Because a cat's the only cat who knows where it's at  
Tell me, everybody's pickin' up on that feline beat  
'Cause everything else is obsolete  
A square with a horn  
Makes you wish you weren't born  
Every time he plays  
But with a square in the act  
You can set music back  
To the caveman days"

Aristocats, 'Ev'rybody wants to be a cat'

* * *

„Agnes…"

The voice resonating in the otherwise completely silent dorm room sounded shallow, rather quiet and, most unsettlingly, even hostile. Bella reflexively held her breath, trying to detect the exact location the voice had come from in the mostly dim lit room. She felt the brunette next to her do the same, the sudden danger they had gotten in the last time they entered this surreal sphere not yet forgotten. It didn't take long for the alien voice to speak up again.

„I know you're here Agnes. Stop the games and show yourself." The voice now almost hissed.

This time Bella was able to recognise where the whisper was coming from. It originated from the other side of the room, but they'd known a few seconds later anyway. A person entered their field of vision right after voicing her demand.

It wasn't as obvious as it had been the last time.

Bella knew they had entered the Holosphere again, but it didn't seem the Hufflepuff dorms had changed much since Agnes' times, so the luminescent aspects of the furniture weren't as obvious for them as they had been in Agnes' battered childhood home. The faint swirling of light became obvious as soon as the pale and luminous owner of the voice came into sight.

From what Bella could gather through the glowing projection, it was a girl around their age, of rather small stature and with wild, rough looking curls on her translucent head. Her expression seemed wary as she slowly took another step into the middle of the room.

„Never was good at hiding from you, huh, Ellie?"

This time, a different person spoke, much nearer to them than the other person was. Still, they were only able to see her now, since she seemingly had materialised out of thin air or, what was more likely, had chosen to make herself visible at this exact moment. She had managed to hide her presence skillfully, or maybe they just weren't able to sense her in this magical projection until now, since she only stood a few feet away from them. As a result, both of the non-luminescent girls got startled and Jean even jumped a little and clawed herself into Bellas left shoulder.

It was difficult to recognise, since she wasn't a kid anymore. Still, she had the same, light brown hair as she had as a child, only it was now skillfully woven into a complicated braid that almost reached her ribcage. There, a half-smile on a face that now lacked childish features, an indefinable look in now mature eyes, stood the young adult that Agnes Waterhouse had become. She was maybe a few years older than Bella now, clearly changed from the young girl who had yet to learn what role her magic would have to play in her life into a fully fletched witch. If her whole demeanor hadn't made it evidently clear that she had fully committed herself to accept her magical heritage at this point, her appearance did the rest. She wore, on first sight, a black cloak, that had, if one looked closer, rather complicated runes and symbols woven into the fabric, shimmering in a softly glimmering bronze. Otherwise it was adorned with a large, golden brooch of a symbol Bella didn't recognise. The last distinct feature of Agnes' appearance was in her hair. Skillfully embedded was a long twig of Ivy, which almost looked like a floral crown on her head.

The girl Agnes had addressed as Ellie, her sister, was apparently still a student at Hogwarts at that time, as well as a member of the House Hufflepuff. She was a little shorter than Agnes, but their haircolour and similarities in their facial features made it even now rather obvious that they were related. Only was there no warm half-smile on the younger witch's face. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, continuing to eye her sister warily, the hostility still evident in her features. She completely ignored the statement of the older witch, instead she simply asked with a deep, stricken look on her face.

„Why are you here?"

Agnes gave her a questioning look and her smile had now a sad underlying. She opened her arms in a gesture that could both be interpreted as inviting and helpless.

„I wanted to see you, of course. Didn't you miss me?"

Ellie's face twitched. For a few moments, the room was void of any noise, a tense anticipation had started to build up and only increased as neither one of the sisters spoke. With every second, Jean increased the pressure of her nails digging into Bella's shoulder so they would leave marks for sure. She didn't even realise in that moment, too wrapped up in the anticipation of what would happen next, unaware that she was holding her breath due to the immense tension. Then…

A faint sniffle emerged from Ellie. Suddenly, she was hurling herself forward, towards her sister and into her waiting arms.

The younger girl was crying louder by the second, sobbing uncontrollably as she settled into her sisters embrace, grabbing onto her robes and pressing her face into her shoulder as if she was scared the older girl would disappear again any second.

For a while neither of them said a word. Ellie continued to cling onto Agnes, while the older witch just caressed her younger sister's hair, a fond and loving expression on her face. Bella felt the urge to look away from the scene. It felt so personal, intensely private. She knew _she_ wouldn't want anyone to witness her in a situation like that. But Agnes had chosen this specific memory to show them, so she was afraid to look away in case anything important to their task would happen. So, even if she felt immensely uncomfortable, she forced herself to watch and tried to focus. Soon enough, the moment was over. As soon as Ellie had regained some of her composure and her sobbing had subsided into a sniffle again, she repeated her question.

„Why are you here?" And then added a little sheepishly. „And why now? …I thought I'd never see you again."

Agnes' shoulders visibly stiffened and it was the first time an expression of uneasiness crossed her face.

„I'm _so_ sorry, Ellie." She said, her voice sounding guilt-stricken. „That I vanished for so long. You know that Hogwarts never was a home to me like it was to you. I love the castle, it's secrets and the magic that it surrounds. But I couldn't fit in here, I never did. I was so happy that you were different from me." She whispered into her sister's hair. „That you found your family within these dorms. From all the houses, I always liked Hufflepuff best. Even if I knew I didn't actually belong here either, they still welcomed me warmly, so I wouldn't feel as out of place as in the other dorms.

„Is this why you ultimately stayed here after you had gone trough all the houses?" Ellie asked curiously.

„No." Agnes confessed. „I would've chosen whichever house you'd have gotten in in the end. I was just happier that it was Hufflepuff. They were always the most inclusive house, I didn't have to worry as much about you after I graduated when you were part of the Hufflepuff-family."

„And still you went away." Ellie countered, her tone once again steady and defensive. She disengaged out of the hug to look her sister in the eyes, a spark of the former anger in her own. „Two years without a single message from you. I was _scared_. I needed you!"

Agnes smiled again, wiping one of the remaining teardrops from her sister's face. „Not as much as I needed you. But as I said, I was never to fit in anywhere, I never had a place to belong like you did. I needed to find out who I really was. What my purpose is, why I am the way I am, you understand? I am sorry that I didn't write you or wasn't able to meet you. For these two years I've travelled a lot, learned about the beauty of nature and the origin of magic. I found… _inspiration._ But this was something I needed to do on my own. It broke my heart I couldn't contact you and I had to leave you in the dark about my whereabouts. But I'd _never_ leave you Ellie. I am so sorry I gave you the feeling that I abandoned you." She asked gently. There was guilt in her expression, but also determination. A silent question towards her sister. _Can you forgive me?_

Bella couldn't stop but feeling deep sympathy for the witch. _Finding out why I am how I am, a purpose in life? Yeah, that sounds about right._

A multitude of emotions were swirling through Ellie's face. A confusing mix of understanding, hurt, pity and also relief to finally see her sister again. But then, slowly, her expression turned into one of plain, deep fear.

„What if something like _that_ would have happened again?" She finally whispered, so faintly that Bella almost didn't hear it.

Agnes answered quickly, as if she expected this question. „It wouldn't. You lost control one time, out of fear, when you were young. It wasn't your fault and it didn't happen again since then."

„I am still dangerous." Ellie mumbled, now shaking a little. „You are _not._ You were never a threat to people that didn't threaten you in the first place. You saved our lives that day, even if you did it unconsciously. I owe you my life." „You were still the one that got beaten by mother for _my_ behaviour. Did you think I didn't understand why mother sent me to grandmother shortly after that? I saw how bruised you were. She disciplined _you_ for the crime _I_ committed…"

And this is where the penny dropped for Bella. She knew Jean had understood at the same time as her, since she could again feel the fingernails of the other girl dig into her back once again.

They knew what scenario they were talking about, what had seemingly left the younger witch guilt-stricken since she was a kid. They were there, had lived it with them.

It hadn't been Agnes that time, as they had thought all along, protecting them from the fanatic men with a burst of accidental magic. It hadn't been her, but her sister. The girl that showed jealousy towards her sisters beautiful magic accidentally murdered someone with magic that was born out of fear. Yet her sister had taken the impact of the anger that would've been directed towards the younger girl otherwise. The tragedy of this story left a lump in Bella's throat. Clenching her fist and subconsciously picturing herself and her sisters in the same situation. She hoped she would've reacted the same way Agnes did.

She was tempted to talk to Jean about this, who surely had understood the implication as well, but both of them were too engrossed in the scenario that was displayed in front of them. There would be enough time later to discuss everything that happened right now.

„ _Stop it!_ " Agnes said gently, yet firmly this time. „The death of those men were self-inflicted. As I said, you saved both of our lives that day. You'll always be my heroine. I am just happy you didn't come to hate magic, but were still open to discover the beauty of it." Agnes' gaze towards her sister held so much love and affection in it, that Ellie simply hugged her sister she had feared to never see again.

„I forgive you. I love you. I missed you so-"

Another sound interrupted the bonding of the witches, who broke off of each other at the unexpected visitor. While Ellie's face lit up in a warm smile, Agnes' face darkened into a frown.

„ _Meow._ "

A sleek, translucent cat entered the room, the luminous body of originally dark colour with the occasional white spots sprinkled in its fur. Jean would later describe it as a ‚reverse dalmatian-cat", which Bella couldn't really follow since she'd never seen a Dalmatian. Right now though, Bella only saw the small animal graciously move through the room and towards the pair of sisters, meowing demandingly again as he reached them.

„…You still got that beast?" The frown in Agnes face was now accompanied by a slight edge in her voice. This, though, seemed to be completely unnoticed by her sister, whose face had lit up the second she heard the noise behind them.

„Aww, don't be mean, Agnes." Ellie suddenly purred as she scooped the animal up from the ground and nuzzled into his neck. With the same purring voice, she addressed the animal nestled in her arms.

„How are you, my dear? It's been days since I've seen you around. Have you been a good cat, Sathan?" The cat that apparently was called ‚Sathan' only meowed again, cuddling into the embrace for a second, before demanding to be let down again, jumping onto one of the beds and curling up to take a nap.

„I never understood why you hated him with such conviction. He was a present from grandma when I was a kid, he's an old cat by now…" Agnes eyed her sister with an unreadable expression on her face. She reluctantly started again. „Ellie…does he look that old to you? I'm serious, you should–" „Elizabeth? Are you up there?" A shout towards their dormroom resonated accompanied by hurried steps that came nearer by the second

„Oh no, wait a moment, I'll look what they want and be back in a second, okay? Please, _don't_ just leave again. I have so much I want to tell, I want to ask you…" „No, I won't. I'll never leave you again, I promise." Agnes said gently with a smile. Bella noticed it didn't quite reach her eyes this time, though. Ellie was too busy to hurry towards the noise of her fellow students though so she quickly exited the room and hurried towards the noise.

A few seconds there was silence in the room, as Agnes looked at the closed door, a contemplating look on her face. She seemed to wait if her sister would come back right away. When this didn't seem to be the case, she, surprisingly to the witches next to her, started to speak again. Her tone was nowhere near her friendly and gentle demeanor when she talked to her sister. Her voice was cold and emitted a power that left both of the girls frozen in shock.

„Stop the act. What do you want?"

Both girls looked at the seething witch and her complete change in demeanor, eyes widening. Both of the girls immediately began to stutter rather feeble explanations. „Uhm…we're…eh…" „Sorry, we didn't want to interrupt–"

„Technically, we didn't really hide from–"

But both of them stopped their rambling soon when they realised that the woman hadn't actually addressed _them_. She had even turned away from them, facing towards the other direction.

Bella and Jean exchanged a quick glance. Both of them were waiting for something similar to happen as the last time. That, at some point, they became part of the situation like when the men had approached them, having to react to some form of situation they were thrown in. But it seemed like both had misjudged the situation. They only had a few seconds for their quiet exchange, since Agnes now actively glared in a direction that had left Bella puzzled for a moment.

The cat yawned and stretched out of it's sleeping position, looking up at Agnes with large eyes, who's now icy glare was fixated on the animal. For a moment, it simply stared back.

Suddenly, it giggled.

 _What the…_

The ‚cat' jumped of the bed and walked towards the older girl, who hadn't gotten her wand out yet, but had shifted into a defensive position, while the cat still giggled, it became even louder. In that highly uncomfortable tone. The longer Bella observed the … _creature,_ the more it disturbed her. The giggling was accompanied by a grotesque distortion of it's face that could _nowhere_ be normal for an animal… if she needed any more evidence that this wasn't an average cat. Even it's movements had become less catlike. They looked erratic, unnatural, like something had chosen the wrong movements for a body. The sudden change was unexpected, nightmarish, even grotesque. She wasn't even able to move somehow, intimidated by the mere presence of this unknown beast. Yet Agnes simply looked at the creature in front of her, only with unhidden disgust in her features. To Bellatrix' plain horror, it started to speak. It's voice was nothing like she had heard before. It spoke in their language, but still in that sickeningly high, yet drawling voice with an emphasis on syllables that made it sound like it spoke to them through a medium other than plain and simple air.

His voice sounded distorted and hollow, as if it emerged directly from a crypt.

„Oooh, little Agnes, how much you've grown since you were a kid. And not a single bruise on your pretty face, is there? When you were still tiny, your mother would beat you up so good, sometimes you almost weren't recogniseable." It drawled with the occasional giggle thrown in between. „Such a little girl, so much pain. _Especially_ when you had open cuts from the odd hit with something a little too sharp. Want to know a secret? Whenever you forgot to close your door I would sneak in and lick every drop of blood I could get, _delicious_ it was…you were so _beautiful_ …" Agnes didn't react to that revelation, only stared at the creature and repeated her question.

„What. Do. You. Want? Don't wear out my patience."

„Your patience? Your _patience_? " And the giggle increased into a crescendo of high-pitched laughter, accompanied by even stronger distortions and twists in the creatures face that looked less and less similar to a cat. Bella realised that it actually had shifted from its original form into something different, or was in the process of doing so. Bones were breaking with sickening cracks and rearranging until a slightly larger, still four-legged animal stood in front of them. The whole process was highly disturbing but it didn't even come close to the result of it. Bella wanted to puke. It was probably only because of the sharp sting of Jeans nails that dug into her shoulder again that changed her cry of shock into a slight hiss of pain and kept her grounded.

The ‚cat' had changed its body, it looked more dog- than catlike now. Slightly taller, scrubbier fur, although still white-spotted on a black basis and with two small, grey horns attached to it's forehead now. It's movements seemed to fit this body better, even if they were still somewhat different and more erratic than those of a real dog would have been. This information only registered in the back of Bellatrix' mind. Upfront was its face, which resembled a grotesque version of the face of an ape, hairless, now almost dislodging it's jaws with a manic grin, displaying its sharp fangs towards Agnes. Eyes dark like coal. Burning, hypnotizing…

„I could end you…all of you, little girl." The beast was snarling, swaying a little. „I've been before even your far ancestors have been born to this world, and I'll still be when none of the bones in your body is recognisable anymore, turned to dust…I could help along that journey, if I crush your bones, though. Turn into nothingness as fast as possible…" He stated, still slowly staggering towards the witch, that was still surprisingly calm.

 _Did I just think it walked more like a dog? No. It moves like no animal I know. It's just a complete freak show, how does she not freak out?_

„What do you want with my sister?" Agnes simply asked, ignoring the threat towards her. She didn't move as the ‚animal' got nearer, only her arm twitched slightly, as if she had to restrain herself not to draw her wand.

Again, the beast let out the howling shriek of a somewhat ape-like sound, suddenly changing direction and sprinting in circles around the room in such a demonic speed Bella didn't even realise what happened before it was over again, not even getting the chance to try to catch up with her eye. A moment later the creature had shifted again, changed its rear legs similar to those of a monkey, again accompanied by the sickening sound of breaking bones and ripping flesh, as it suddenly dangled from the narrow roof, its face only inches apart from Agnes', who had, to her credit, still not moved. Apart from the slight twitch of her hand it wouldn't have even been obvious she had registered what had happened, her face a perfect mask of emptiness.

„I want with your sister what I want with all of you little humans." He shifted for a last time, fell on the ground and executed the disgusting process of changing once more, back into the sleek figure of the cat it had been in the beginning. „Love and a home, what else could I want?" He now purred absurdly, in comparison to his behaviour a second ago it only increased the horror behind it. And as much as it tried, it couldn't completely diminish the strange quality of it's voice, still sounding distorted and hollow. Its ears twitched.

„Your lovely, _delicious_ sister is coming back. The cute, _naive_ thing. You broke her heart when you went away, you know that? Cried her pretty eyes out a lot of nights. Ah, tears are almost as delicious as blood, _really_ let me crave for more…I think she's returning…let's both welcome her _warmly_ …"

Agnes' eyes flashed, the twitching in her hand becoming worse as faint steps outside of the room indicated someone coming nearer. Now, though, something else felt strange. Bella couldn't pinpoint it for the first moment since she'd eyed Agnes at the moment, who stood in indecision what to do now. Only when she shifted her attention back to the hideous beast, now disguised as a mere cat, she understood.

It was grinning at her now, black eyes piercing through her mind.

This. This was it. The situation both of them had anticipated since entering House Hufflepuff and speaking the charm once again. The confrontation through this sphere, with a situation Agnes had dealt with, acting in an appropriate manner to relive special points of her life. So far, so logical. The only thing they didn't have in their calculation was the naked fear Bellatrix felt as the creature tilted its head, grinning at them with hollow eyes like no animal should ever do. Her mind became paralysed by the mere stare of it, feeling the sheer power it was emitting. She couldn't focus anymore, reflexively pulling her wand out of her sleeve and pointing it towards the demonising entity in front of them. A threat that needed to be destroyed. She lifted her wand and opened her mouth. A sharp sting at her shoulder grounded her once again, a tug at her sleeve broke her fear-laced trance. She looked at her side, where Jean stood, shifting her gaze between Bella and the beast whose name Bella only remembered now. _‚Sathan'. How fitting._

„ _Don't._ " The other girl said quietly, her voice was on edge, the fear evident. She felt it as well as Bella did. The overpowering fear while faced with an entity born from darkness. And still she strongly indicated to _not_ do anything? Was she out of her mind?

„Are you daft?" Bella hissed, voicing her thoughts, trying to free her wand-arm from the strong hold of the other girl. „This thing is an abnormality! It's, hideous, _dangerous_!"

„Yes, yes and again _yes."_ The other girl hissed back, strengthening her grip on Bella's cloak. „It is. Don't you feel it? It's stronger than us, _way_ stronger. We neither know what it is or how to defend ourselves. It would be a shot in the dark. It would be reckless to attack right now. _Impatient._ "

„Oh…" Bella said, understanding dawning upon her. Jean was probably right. Still, it felt _wrong_ not to do anything right now, her instincts were _screaming_ at her to do something, _anything._

Her internal debate didn't go unnoticed by the brunette, who probably said the only thing that could end this line of thinking on the point.

„Trust me."

She slowly let go of Bella's shoulder for a moment, took her wand out of her hand to firmly interlace it with her own a second later. Then, a confession. Albeit obvious, it made Bella feel better nonetheless.

„I'm scared, too."

Every part of Bella's instinct still screamed at her, to just defend herself against the fiend in front of her, to not leave herself so vulnerable. _But isn't this the problem, in the end?_ This wouldn't have been a fight out of bravery, the intent to attack born out of fear would have been the wrong thing to do. So she gulped, nodded and was answered with a reassuring squeeze from Jeans hand.

They both continued to stare directly into Sathan's eyes. Not moving, not giving him the possibility of a reaction to an action. They were just waiting, as did Agnes. A few moments later, he giggled again, jumping back onto the bed with every grace of a normal cat.

„Agnes? Oh thank god you're still here!" Ellie whispered as she came back in, closing the door behind her, silently. „But I fear we don't have much time anymore, the other girls are coming back soon."

Agnes didn't give any signs to her sister of what happened previously. She just smiled kindly and shook her head.

„That's not a problem, I wanted to go now anyway." „What, no!" Ellie said with freshly infused panic, rushing towards her sister again and clinging onto her, refusing to let go. „You'll leave me? You just promised you'd never do that again!"

While Ellie wasn't paying attention, all the other witches in the room –luminescent or not– saw how a certain creature jumped quietly from the bed, made its way towards the door and silently opened it. With a last look back, that showed the distorted grin of the beast one more time, Sathan sneaked outside.

Only now did Agnes allow herself a small sigh of relief before looking at her sister again.

„And I stand by it. But you know I can't stay at Hogwarts, right?"

„…Right." Ellie begrudgingly admitted, shoulders slumping a little.

„That's why I am here, actually. I will go traveling again, but it's possible I won't always be able to send an owl to you. So I have this to give to you."

„She had a book, in a plain, dark cover, comparable to the notebook the other witch had found months ago in the library.

Her sister took it, looking up questioningly to the older witch. Who produced another, similar looking copy from her robes. „Those books are magically connected. The magic is concealed, it may take one or two days to get through to mine, but in the end it's a safe method."

„I've never seen something like that." „I created it." Agnes smiled. A second later, her expression became more serious. „ It is a variation of the protean-charm. For it to work, you must never talk about it, though. The moment you speak about it, the magic will fade."

Elisabeth nodded slowly, pressing the book to her chest.

„I love you, Ellie. Never doubt or forget that." „I love you too, Agnes."

As both sisters held onto their book and each other, the witches found the scene fading and back into the whirling of light and colours around them.

Both stayed dead silent when they found themselves back in the simple and plain dorm room of their own time. There was just too much to process that some kind of numbness overtook Bella's brain, not knowing where to direct her thoughts at first.

Still, they couldn't stay here forever. She looked behind them and, as expected, the door towards the common room in Hufflepuff's picture had reappeared.

Since her hand still clung to Jean's, she slightly tugged at it to get the other girls attention, who seemed to be in a similar trance to Bellatrix before. „Come on, the passage is open again. Let's go." Jean merely nodded, obviously still trying to process what had happened just then. She shook her head with a little more determination, nodded again and both of them made their way back towards the door.

The moment they stepped through the threshold, they felt the shift in their reality as the last time they entered the picture of the founder. They merely recognised it in the backs of their heads though, a concerned looking Hufflepuff meeting them as soon as she heard them entering.

„The few ones that came back were in an equally sombre mood like you two. Are you girls alright?"

„Yes…yes, we are, I guess." Bella confirmed, even if neither of them probably looked like it.

„You poor girls." Hufflepuff said, walking towards them and observing them with worried, but warm eyes.

„Agnes…" Jean said out of the blue, looking at the founder-portrait in front of them. „How was she? Like, as a person?" „She was one of the most peculiar students I got to know here. I remember that Agnes was a stricken girl. I always liked her and felt heartbroken that she didn't feel like she truly fit into this family. But so… so peculiar indeed…she was always welcome here and we had the occasional talk at night. All she wanted was a place to belong to. I would've loved to give her that place." Bella perked up. „But…it seemed like she _did_ find it in the end… not in Hogwarts, but later on. So…she should've been fine?"

„Well…maybe, dear. But this isn't the end of your journey, is it? So I guess there is more to find out about Agnes' journey for you as well. But I fear I am not the one to help you any further… I already feel how the edges of my memory slip away from me, since the magic is getting weaker by the second." She smiled sadly. „I am glad to be a part of Agnes' afterlife, but I wish the girl didn't think it was necessary that I would forget her. She didn't deserve that. But now, you girls hurry! Soon, I won't remember what happened here."

Both nodded, making their way through the picture towards the door that would lead them to the Hufflepuff common room again. Before they could leave, Bella looked back again.

„Thank you, Professor! And I am really sorry that we entered your home without permission." Hufflepuff smiled warmly again. „It was a pleasure meeting you girls, both so strong willed and gifted. Now, hush!"

Quietly, they entered the dorm again, that hadn't changed in the slightest. The only differences were the view of the magical windows, which, by now, showed a slowly approaching dawn as the red crept into the darkness of the night. Quietly, with a last nod towards the portrait, they left the badgers' lair. When the door closed behind them, the founder hat fallen back into slight slumber.

„I guess Hufflepuff isn't as bad as a house as I thought." Bella mused as they quietly left the dungeons behind them. She could easily tell that this had been one of the scariest moments of her life. A particular kind of courage had been needed there. They had to work against their instincts, show patience towards the unknown rather than force or intimidation. It also wasn't just about them. Agnes' first and foremost concern, in the end, had been her sister. And a sisterly bond that made the older witch fight against her instincts, not for her own protection, but Ellie's. Her loyalty to her family as a source of calmness was something Bella respected deeply. She came to the surprising conclusion that she'd underestimated the houses' qualities. While admitting this in her mind, there obviously was no way she would voice this much out loud to anyone.

To her surprise, Jean quietly snorted next to her, as they made their way through the corridors and effectively ended her trail of thoughts.

„Oh come on, you're just happy a _portrait_ likes you now."

„ _Shut up_ " Bella felt a blush creep on her face. Jean had the grace to avoid her expression right then, the smug expression on her face got on Bella's nerves nonetheless. She slapped the girls shoulder slightly, only then stopping the physical contact that had kept her grounded.

Lightening the mood was direly needed by both of them right now.

It seemed they had finished the next part of their adventure a few hours before breakfast. Neither of them felt like being able to sleep. They made their way – luckily still undetected by any teachers or ghosts patrolling the corridors - towards the quire room. None of them wanting to talk more than necessary before being in a relatively safe-spot. They settled down next to each other, both releasing a sigh that wandered between relief and worry. After a few moments, Jean spoke up.

„So…what do you think?" She asked the other witch plainly.

Now it was Bella's turn to snort. „Good question. The first thing that comes to mind is that this felt like the most realistic nightmare ever. But seriously? I feel like I have more questions than before. This really didn't explain much, did it? It's like, ten to fifteen years after what we've seen the last time, Agnes didn't even go to Hogwarts anymore, obviously vanished for a few years to go Merlin knows where…to show us what? The shining beacon of Creepiness itself?" She shuddered at the thought of the weird creature they had encountered. „It gave me the shivers, Jean."

Jean frowned, nodding after a few seconds of contemplation. „Yeah, it did. Whatever that thing was…I've never felt such a sudden urge of panic as when that…that _monster_ stared at me. Well, that's not true, it comes pretty close to the feeling you get when a Dementor is nearby." She shivered. „But it wasn't really the same. Dementors cause a deep, wholesome fear when they take your happiness… _that_ right then just made me feel like I was _prey_. As if…as if it reduced me to basic instincts that told me to _run_. It felt disgusting, like I was a deer in headlights." „I know what you mean…except for that ‚deer in the headlights'-thing." Then she frowned, just picking up on one thing Jean had just said. „Wait, what? How the hell do you know how it feels if a Dementor is feeding on you?"

She saw Jean freeze for a second, slowly looking towards Bella, whose frown only deepened. When Jean didn't answer after a few seconds, she abandoned it in favour of an arched eyebrow. _Suspicious._

„Uh…yeah, sorry, it's difficult to remember the feeling." Jean finally said. „The school I went to before I entered here…one year they had patrols of Dementors ‚cause they assumed a criminal was stalking our school. It only lasted a few weeks, luckily."

Bella's eyes went wide. „Your school had _Dementors_ patrolling? What kind of environment is that? Something like that wouldn't even happen here and for all I know most of the stuff here is bonkers!"

Jean chuckled sadly. „Well, I hope so. It's not a nice feeling, I can assure you."

„Oh, I know. I've only had the displeasure once, and it was rather far away at that time…nothing I need a repetition of."

For some reason, Jean's expression just turned somewhat sadder when she looked at Bella. „I believe that."

There was some kind of awkward silence then that Bella couldn't really decipher. Not knowing how to act, she stretched a little to at least _do_ something, scratching her shoulder, when suddenly–

„Ow!" „Bella, you alright?" Jean asked concerned, her mysterious mood forgotten for the moment.

Bella shrugged off a part of her robe to inspect her hurting shoulder. She quirked an eyebrow at the red marks on her back she saw through the mirroring surface of a small window. Jeans gaze had followed her movements, now sporting a rather sheepish expression on her face. „Sorry about that."

„Damn, Jean. Normally those aren't a sign of a scary but a _really_ good time…"

At that, Jean blushed fiercely, slapping Bella's arm hard. Bella only laughed, glad that the mood had become playful again. As she did so, another thing came to mind, so she nudged the still red-faced witches shoulder.

„We should check the next poem, right? Before we get into wild suspicions about what happened."

Jean nodded _._ „Yes, you are right." She quickly said, putting on her gloves and retrieving the book from her bag, obviously happy to change the subject. _Cute._

When she opened the book on the formerly empty page, as presumed, there was now text on it. But they weren't greeted by a poem, but by a longer text, not written in rhyme, but as some form of–

„A letter." Jean whispered.

„Jean, turn the page." Bella asked the brunette, since she couldn't touch the book without the gloves. _It's time I enchant some for myself._

Jean did as asked without questioning and Bella's suspicion was confirmed. Jean turned another page. And another. She was flowing through the book now, until she met empty pages again, way further at the end of the book.

„This at least explains why it is a notebook and not a pamphlet." Bella commented, arguably unhelpfully. Jean didn't react, her hand slowly sweeping over the letters in the book, trying to comprehend what they were looking at. „It's their conversation, isn't it?" Jean asked faintly. „What Agnes was talking about in the common room…both had a similar book, so they could stay in contact." Bella confirmed this, nodding solemnly, inspecting the first letter again, now that Jean had skimmed back to the first part of the new entries.

„Yes. These are the letters the sisters have written to each other."

* * *

So, yeah. A slight turn in the pace of the story, I guess. What do you think? Let me know if you have the time :)

Review-answering-time:

HeavyTeaDrinker: I'm sorry I let you wait for more than two months, but thank you anyway for your kind review :) You're totally right about the typos, me not being a native-speaker isn't much on an excuse at that. But for this chapter at least, I should've got that covered :) Good to hear that I'm improving, I hope you won't change your mind after this chapter :D

Mrs. F: I'm unbelievably glad that I somehow manage make you feel like that with my story :) It's something I wanted to give back to the community since I discovered fanfiction, so it's nice to see that its working! And don't worry, even if its a little irregular, I'll continue posting! Thanks a lot for the lovely review :)

UchihaEternal: I'll totally continue to update, I hope I'll get to do it a little more regularly in the next weeks. I'll do my best! :)

dangokaysierra: Haha,I know what you mean! Timetravel seems like a totally overused concept by now, but I just felt like there was missing a certain type of story in this fandom. Really nice to hear that it gets appreciated :)


End file.
